September 20, Ningbo Bangda Industrial Co., Ltd. Initiated and hosted by “‘Building Storage Facilities with Intelligence: Ensuring Cultural Relics Rest in Peace’ — Expert Symposium on Smart Storage Facility Development and High-Quality Museum Advancement” It was held in the company’s exhibition hall conference room.

This symposium is hosted by Ningbo Municipal Cultural Relics Protection and Utilization Association Organized by, Ningbo Maitreya Museum, Ningbo China Port Museum Co-organized, adopting “Field Research + Thematic Seminars” The approach involved inviting more than ten leaders from domestic cultural heritage management agencies, museum directors, and university scholars and experts to first conduct an on-site visit to the Ningbo Bangda Exhibition Hall, where they gained insights into the company’s development trajectory, its achievements in technological innovation, and the core technologies underpinning its collection‑storage facilities. They also conducted an in-depth field study of a model smart‑storage facility, experiencing cutting‑edge technologies and equipment. Following this, they discussed the challenges and issues confronting the construction of museum collection‑storage spaces, putting forward relevant strategies and recommendations aimed at overcoming industry bottlenecks and fostering high‑quality development in the museum sector.

On that day, all the experts in attendance also jointly released The Ningbo Initiative on Building Smart Warehouses to Support the High-Quality Development of Museums 。

Feng Yi, Director of the China Port Museum in Ningbo In their remarks, leaders representing the host and co‑organizing institutions noted that, as “high‑quality museum development” has been elevated to a national cultural strategy, collection storage facilities—key bastions of cultural heritage preservation—play a pivotal role. The level of modernization and digital intelligence in these facilities directly impacts the safety of cultural relics and the continuity of cultural heritage. At present, challenges such as outdated planning, a lack of standardized guidelines, and uneven adoption of advanced technologies persist. It is hoped that this symposium will foster industry-wide consensus, clarify the urgency and strategic direction of smart‑storage facility development, address practical obstacles, and provide frontline professionals with actionable, replicable solutions. By doing so, it aims to guide standard‑setting efforts and offer concrete recommendations to advance the sector’s move toward greater regulation and standardization.

Feng Yi, Director of the China Port Museum in Ningbo

Zhu Jianhua, Chairman of Ningbo Bangda Industrial Co., Ltd. In his address, he noted that, after nearly thirty years of relentless dedication to the sector, Ningbo Bangda has served more than 4,000 clients and completed over 5,000 projects, amassing extensive practical experience. At the same time, it has identified numerous challenges in the industry, including resource waste caused by inverted planning and design processes, imbalances in resource allocation, and uneven warehouse quality due to constraints in funding and space. Furthermore, the field of warehouse construction lacks robust scientific foundations and standardized guidelines. He expressed hope that, by establishing an efficient platform for industry dialogue, experts’ collective wisdom can be harnessed to jointly explore solutions, develop sound industry standards and regulatory frameworks, create truly secure storage environments for cultural relics, and foster the sector’s sustainable growth.

Zhu Jianhua, Chairman of Ningbo Bangda Industrial Co., Ltd.

During the thematic discussion session, presentations were delivered by… Duan Yong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of Shanghai University, and Gong Liang, Honorary Director of the Nanjing Museum and former Deputy Director-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. Moderated. The participating experts engaged in a discussion on the challenges and issues facing museum storage‑facility construction, as well as corresponding strategies and recommendations, with a particular focus on how to advance such development from both technical and policy perspectives.

Duan Yong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of Shanghai University

Gong Liang, Honorary Director of the Nanjing Museum and former Deputy Director-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism

Hou Ningbin, Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Museum Association and former Director of the Shaanxi History Museum

Chen Ruijin, Second-Level Researcher at the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, and Honorary Director of the Suzhou Museum

Liu Chaoying, Chairman of the Beijing Museum Association and former Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics

Shi Jinming, former director of the Shanxi Museum and former member of the Standing Committee of the Shanxi Provincial People’s Congress.

Wei Jun, Professor at Fudan University and former Director of the Guangdong Museum

Chen Hao, former director of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum and a second-level researcher.

Yang Ling, Deputy Director of the Exhibition Committee of the Chinese Museum Association and former Minister of the Central Organization Department of the Jiusan Society.

Chen Tongle, Special Advisor to the Art Committee of the Chinese Museum Association and former Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum

Li Li, Standing Committee Member of the Exhibition Art Committee of the Chinese Museum Association and former Deputy Director of the Yunnan Provincial Museum

Wu Zhiyue, former director of the Fujian Museum, former deputy director of the Fujian Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, and a second-level researcher.

Wang Jiehua, Director of the Ningbo Base for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage and Research Curator in Cultural Relics and Museums

Fang Quanyue, a second-level researcher at the Museum and Revolutionary Relics Division of the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism, chaired the meeting.

At present, China’s museum sector is experiencing robust growth, and public enthusiasm for museums continues to rise. However, challenges remain in the construction and management of collection storage facilities: there is a tendency to prioritize exhibition over preservation, planning, design, and construction are often poorly coordinated, storage‑facility designs lag behind modern standards, management practices remain traditional, and levels of digitalization are low. Moreover, procurement and bidding policies still require refinement in terms of scientific rigor, rationality, and alignment with actual needs. The sector also lacks effective self‑regulation and oversight mechanisms. Addressing these issues will require concerted efforts across multiple dimensions—national and industry policies, institutional governance, technical standards, project management, and business operations—to ensure the sustained optimization and development of museum storage infrastructure.

The Ningbo Initiative on Building Smart Warehouses to Support the High-Quality Development of Museums The document was released, focusing on six key areas: promoting differentiated development of museum storage facilities, advancing the standardization of museum storage infrastructure, popularizing digital and intelligent management of museum storage, strengthening security safeguards for museum storage, conducting comprehensive cost‑accounting for museum storage construction, and bolstering patent‑rights protection related to smart storage systems. These measures provide constructive guidance for the development of museum storage and for the industry’s high‑quality growth.

All parties attending the meeting unanimously agreed that efforts to strengthen the building of… should be continuously intensified. Standardization, Smartization, Sustainability The warehouse construction and management system, under the continuous optimization of policies, the gradual establishment of standards, and the industry’s self-regulation and innovation-driven momentum, is jointly advancing warehouse development into a new phase characterized by scientific rigor, standardization, and intelligentization, thereby truly achieving… “Let cultural relics have a good rest” A beautiful vision.

Following the meeting, delegates visited the Maitreya Museum in Ningbo to conduct an on-site field study. Through innovative practices that integrate culture and technology, they deepened their understanding of smart‑storage facility development. This symposium not only offered forward‑looking ideas and solutions for museum storage infrastructure but also fostered significant consensus on establishing industry standards, refining management systems, and enhancing inter‑sectoral collaboration—thereby injecting new momentum into safeguarding cultural heritage and advancing the high‑quality development of museums. 
 

The Ningbo Initiative on Building Smart Warehouses to Support the High-Quality Development of Museums

In the early autumn season, a distinguished gathering convened to discuss the development of the museum sector, celebrate the industry’s achievements, and focus on areas that remain relatively underdeveloped. Participants deliberated on the intelligent modernization of museum storage facilities and on strategies for high‑quality growth. Herein, we distill several shared understandings and, by way of this modest contribution, extend an open invitation to stakeholders both within and beyond the field:

I. Promote differentiated development of museum storage facilities. Warehouse construction should be guided by the distinctive characteristics of the collection and actual user needs, adopting differentiated and customized design approaches to prevent resource waste resulting from a disconnect between design and practical requirements.

II. Promote the standardization of museum storage facilities. While emphasizing differentiated development, we should actively promote and apply new technologies and equipment, strengthen the standardization of warehouse design, facilities, and construction processes, strictly adhere to quality benchmarks in warehouse construction, and ensure that construction projects are both compliant and reliable.

III. Promote the digital and intelligent management of museum storage facilities. Warehouse construction should align with contemporary development trends, actively leverage digital, information‑based, and artificial intelligence technologies, continuously upgrade both software and hardware, and establish an intelligent, data‑driven warehouse system to comprehensively enhance warehouse management efficiency and the quality of collection preservation.

IV. Strengthening Security Measures for Museum Storage Facilities. The storage facility must ensure the safety of the collection’s environmental conditions, the physical integrity of the cultural relics, and the personal safety of staff, thereby establishing a comprehensive and reliable security protection system.

V. Pay attention to the overall cost accounting for museum storage facility construction. While calculating the warehouse’s own construction costs, facility and equipment expenses, and operation‑and‑maintenance costs, full consideration is given to the functional‑value cost of preventive conservation for the collections.

VI. Strengthen the protection of patent rights related to smart warehouses. Strengthen intellectual property protection for museum and archive equipment, facilities, and technical services; encourage technological innovation within the sector; safeguard legitimate intellectual property rights; and promote high-quality, innovative development in the cultural heritage and museum industries.

Initiators: Gong Liang, Duan Yong, Hou Ningbin, Chen Ruijin, Liu Chaoying, Shi Jinming, Wei Jun, Chen Hao, Yang Ling, Chen Tongle, Li Li, Wu Zhiyue, Wang Jiehua

September 20, 2025