During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, the Liaoning Provincial Museum became a popular destination for visitors across China, offering a joyous and culturally rich celebration for the Year of the Horse.
From February 15 to 23, the museum received a total of 146,700 visits, marking a 26.01% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Notably, out-of-province visitors accounted for 54.8% of the total, with the top five sources being Heilongjiang, Hebei, Jilin, Jiangsu, and Beijing. Among Liaoning locals, who made up 45.2% of the total, the most visitors came from the cities of Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun, and Jinzhou.
To accommodate the surge in visit demands, the museum extended its opening hours during the holiday. Many non-local visitors made special trips to view major exhibitions such as China in Poetry and Painting: The Poetic Realm of Chinese Painting, and The Art of Lacquering: Exhibition of Yuan, Ming, and Qing Lacquerware Masterpieces. Meanwhile, themed displays like Galloping Hooves: Chinese Zodiac Artifacts Exhibition for the Bingwu Year of the Horse, and Songs of Seasonal Joy in Chinese New Year Prints allowed visitors to immerse themselves in the festive spirit. The museum also provided diverse services, including professional guided tours, volunteer-led public-benefit guides, and smart audio guides, to meet the diversified and personalized needs of the holiday crowds.
Leveraging the Spring Festival holiday as an opportunity to promote and inherit traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage (ICH), the Liaoning Provincial Museum hosted the “Stepping Through Snow to Greet Spring, Riding a Horse for Blessings” ICH market, and “Liaobo Handcrafts” workshops centered on ICH inheritance. These initiatives allowed visitors to not only enjoy but also learn traditional Chinese crafts firsthand. Master artisans of paper-pleating art and mother-of-pearl inlay making also taught participants how to create handicrafts inspired by the museum’s own artifacts.
Interactive fun was scattered throughout the museum. In the “China in Poetry and Painting” exhibition hall and the first floor’s main lobby, visitors enjoyed traditional Chinese touhu (pitch-pot) games and horse-racing themed board games. In the “Tang and Song Splendor” digital exhibition hall, by scanning a QR code, visitors joined digital horse races for a chance to win prizes. Additionally, in the first floor’s main lobby, the Spring Festival horse-themed activities, such as paper-cutting and seal collection, allowed the zodiac culture to be integrated into every detail of visitors’ experience in an interactive and portable way, becoming a tangible and memorable part of the Year of the Horse for visitors.
The masterpiece painting Lady Guoguo’s Spring Outing immersive cultural experiences were held, which were centered around China in Poetry and Painting: The Poetic Realm of Chinese Painting, and Decorative Patterns of Cultural Relics—Educational Exhibition on the Essence of Traditional Chinese Culture. Highlights also included special guided tours themed “China in Poetry and Painting: Tracing the History on Paper” and “Exquisite Artifact Patterns: Floral Decorations Conveying Emotional Resonance”, the “Botan Yaji (Elegant Gathering)” activity themed “Tang Dynasty Beauty: Spring Outing on Horseback”, and the DIY activity of horse-element blue-and-white porcelain collages themed “Poetry and Painting on Porcelain: Divine Steeds Conveying Emotional Resonance”. These activities aimed to further enhance the sense of fulfillment and happiness among visitors.
The museum’s cultural and creative store, closely aligned with the Year of the Horse themed exhibitions, launched a series of themed cultural and creative products, fueling a cultural and tourism consumption boom. The “Jade Pig-Shaped Dragon Steamed Buns” and “Jade Pig-Shaped Dragon Minced Pork Rice” offered at the museum’s visitor restaurant were also particularly popular, successfully connecting the museum’s dining and cultural and creative consumption scenarios, and providing a Chinese New Year feast that seamlessly blended cultural essence with daily life. Moreover, through platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu (RedNote), the Liaoning Provincial Museum maintained its commitment to high-quality cultural offerings. Its published articles, images, and videos on these platforms have attracted a large number of netizens, with one single video garnering up to 290,000 views, and over 1,600 comments and interactions.
