Guan said Egypt was chosen as the first country of honor because both China and Egypt are ancient civilizations that have long maintained extensive cultural exchanges. He also hopes to use this opportunity to introduce more visitors to foreign museums, including their cultural and creative products, as well as exhibitions.
Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of the Grand Egyptian Museum, said that both the museum and Egypt "are very old and have a rich culture, as does China", and that this shared depth is the foundation for the two countries' active cooperation in museums and cultural heritage protection in recent years.
Last year, On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt — an exhibition co-organized by the Shanghai Museum and Egyptian cultural institutions — attracted around 2.77 million visitors, setting a new global attendance record for a single ticketed special exhibition at a museum. Figures from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities show that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Egypt rose 65 percent year-on-year, boosted by the exhibition.
Ghoneim said they are now in contact with more Chinese museums to explore cooperation opportunities, adding that the museum has already been in touch with several such museums and universities, collaborating in various fields, such as developing a better understanding between museums and utilizing technology in museums.
Tan Xuemei, founder of Muses Space — a company dedicated to China-France museum cooperation — said that the intent and demand for cooperation between Chinese and French museums have grown in recent years.
"In the future, exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and overseas museums — whether in scale, the number of institutions involved or the size of exhibitions — will only grow more numerous and larger," Tan said.
Since 2018, her company has focused on Sino-French museum exchanges and cooperation.
This year, with her help, a science exhibition about cats and dogs by Universcience is touring three Chinese museums, including the renowned Suzhou Museum in Jiangsu province and the Shenzhen Museum in Guangdong province. During its run at Suzhou Museum — which specializes in cultural relics — the museum also showcased artifacts related to cats and dogs alongside the main exhibition.
Tan said that major museums and cultural institutions are increasingly cooperating on a national level, while private actors like her are also breaking new ground and constantly pushing the boundaries of museum cooperation — for example, through the natural science exhibitions she has introduced over the past two years.
