Museums, memorial sites and exhibitionary culture in the People's Republic of China

This article presents an overview of post-Mao museum representations of modern Chinese history. The focus is on changing exhibitionary practices and historical narratives in PRC history museums in the period of market reforms and globalization. It shows how new museum architecture, the place of museum buildings in the cityscape and new exhibitionary technologies (such as multimedia displays, dioramas, miniatures) are tied to new narratives of history that serve the interests of the ideology of market reform. Conventional socialist narratives of martyrdom and revolutionary liberation have not disappeared by any means, but they are being reshaped to downplay class issues and to legitimize commercial interests, a work ethic ideology and nationalism.