Connections with the past

According to Yang, the summer program provided the students with an interactive learning experience, such as the Q&A sessions that gave leading museum practitioners, artisans and artists a platform to share and discuss their work.

During the three-week event, participants tried their hands at making a wooden stool by using the traditional Chinese sunmao method (by which the joints are assembled without nails or other couplings) and fold sheets of paper into artistic patterns. They also learned how to run a museum and become a qualified guide.

High school graduate Jiang Taihang from Xicheng district made a piece of woodwork at a workshop organized by the museum.

"The essence of our traditional woodwork is the sunmao technique," says the 18-year-old. "It's easier to grasp the principle behind it when you compare the stool with the Chinese puzzle, the Luban lock, both of which use sunmao," he says.

Jiang enjoys traveling to other cities and countries to attend exhibitions. "Visiting exhibitions gives me a new perspective on how to understand a city and its history," he says.

He says he is becoming increasingly sensitive to the layout of cities, classical architecture and exhibition designs due to the immersive experiences he's had while visiting museums.

"I apply what I learned at the museum when I visit new cities," he says.

For instance, Jiang says he suddenly noticed the axis of Washington DC and researched its background after visiting the city last year.

When he was a child, his parents often took him to local amusement parks or shopping malls during their trips to foreign cities.

"Now, I find it more worthwhile to visit museums and get a taste of the local culture," he says.