The Museum of Wu is China’s first comprehensive museum dedicated to fully showcasing the culture of Wu region. It holds the accreditation of National First-class Museum of China and has been awarded as one of China’s Most Innovative Museums of 2024. Situated in Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province - the core area of both Jiangnan culture and Wu culture - the museum neighbors the Grand Canal (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Baodai Bridge (a National Cultural Heritage Protection Unit).
Adhering to its vision of building an outstanding small and medium-sized museum that excels in academic research and maintains industry-friendly partnerships, the museum team has implemented extensive innovative practices.
Smart Museum Development Leading Future Innovation
The Museum of Wu has attained full coverage (100%) in 2D digitization of its collections, and accomplished 3D digital documentation for 1,462 artifacts/sets, representing 25.4% of total holdings—a data acquisition rate leading the nation. Based on this, the museum has introduced 3D digital exhibitions to campuses and communities, developed themed digital collections such as “Reimagining the National Treasures of Wu Region” and “Revisiting Jiangnan”, and launched a digital intangible cultural heritage map for visualized intangible cultural heritage preservation. These initiatives have received enthusiastic public response. The museum also introduced China’s first AI-powered Museum Course Program, igniting new possibilities for future museum education.
The museum organized the special exhibition “Earthly Paradise: Digital Exhibition of Wu County Cultural Relics”, which combines digital presentations with artifact displays by documenting nearly a thousand immovable cultural relics, including ancient towns, traditional villages, and historic architecture. This approach has established a new paradigm for the exhibition, dissemination, and conservation of immovable heritage. The museum will organize a special exhibition “Digital Exhibition of Historical Figures of Wu County”, featuring over 400 prominent historical figures from the Wu region. Leveraging big data technology for data collection, processing, analysis, and visualization, alongside artificial intelligence (AI) technology for deep learning applications, the exhibition will expand human-machine interactive experiences.
ICH exhibition
Building a New Gateway for International Cultural Exchanges
The Museum of Wu has redefined development paradigms for small and medium-sized museums by articulating cultural narratives through global perspectives. The museum has established a professional special exhibition system comprising five thematic series: Jiangnan culture, Chinese regional cultures, Eurasian civilizations, craftsmanship, and contemporary art “Revisit”. Over the past five years since its inauguration, the museum has organized over 40 special exhibitions. By exploring the connections of local culture and other civilizations, the museum researches and displays the history and cultural development of human beings in a multi-dimensional way. The exhibitions have garnered widespread acclaim for their exceptional scholarly rigor and professional execution. Since 2024, the museum has pioneered the New Nine Regions series, which is a groundbreaking curatorial initiative that traces the evolutionary trajectory of ancient Chinese regional civilizations through a geographical perspective.
Meanwhile, the museum has vigorously expanded international collaborations, creating a platform for international cultural exchanges. By 2025, it has cooperated with museums and cultural institutions in Italy, Japan, South Korea, and other countries to organize 7 international exhibitions, such as “Epitome of Civilization—Exhibition of Ancient Cultural Relics from Eurasia”, “Etruscans: Lords of Ancient Italy”, and “Language of Craftsmanship —Exhibition of Chinese and Korean Crafts”. Landmark initiatives including the China-South Korea Cultural Exchange Base of Suzhou and the China-France Cultural Exchange Base of Suzhou have been established at the museum, facilitating diverse cross-cultural activities. Through these efforts, the Museum of Wu has emerged as a pivotal window for international cultural exchanges.
Establishing the First Collaborative Platform for the Inheritance and Innovation of Intangible Cultural Heritage
The Museum of Wu has pioneered the integration of intangible cultural heritage management into museum operations. The museum has organized the application and certification processes for representative intangible cultural heritage projects and inheritors, promoted revisions to intangible cultural heritage management regulations, and established the demonstration base for intangible cultural heritage preservation through collaborations with leading enterprises. By mobilizing enterprises and institutions, the museum has created China’s first Collaborative Platform for the Inheritance and Innovation of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Leveraging partnerships with entities like the Shanghai Xinhua Media, the museum co-founded an Intangible Cultural Heritage Innovation Lab and participated in the Licensing Expo China (LEC) to develop intellectual property licensing partnerships. Additionally, the museum collaborates closely with inheritors at all levels, and has curated over 10 exhibitions of “Craftsmanship” series as well as organized over 50 intangible cultural heritage-themed events per year.
Museum Grocery Pop-up Exhibition in Freshippo
Cultural Innovation Ecosystem Empowering New Models
The Museum of Wu is committed to forging core partnerships across industries, and positions itself as a demonstration institution for emerging technologies and innovative products while developing application scenarios for diverse new implementations. This strategic framework aims to advance the institution’s transition from a traditional public service venue into a research hub and collaborative innovation platform. By deeply integrating into the broader socioeconomic landscape, the museum transforms its rich cultural resources into actionable competitive advantages for the development of cultural industries.
Through original exhibitions, specialized education programs, cross-sector integration, and online-offline synergies, it sustainably expands its cultural innovation ecosystem. The museum pioneers boundary-breaking collaborations with bookstores, theaters, hotels, cultural tourism entities, and commercial organizations. Notable initiatives include: launching China’s first Museum-Grocery Pop-up Exhibition in Freshippo grocery store; co-developing National Treasure Afternoon Tea and Dream of the Red Chamber-themed dining with a hotel; and creating MUSEUM LAB in a commercial complex to explore cultural space operations.
Recognized by experts as the “exemplar and benchmark for small and medium-sized museum development and operation”, the Museum of Wu has generated replicable and disseminable practices. It is acclaimed by visitors as the “unrivaled destination among small and medium-sized museums” and celebrated nationwide as “China’s most dynamic museum”.
Innovation serves not only as the driving force for the high-quality development of museum initiatives, but also as the vital energy that rejuvenates an institution. A youthful museum, powered by a youthful team, is dynamically interpreting the profound essence of innovative advancement through concrete actions. With grounded yet pioneering approaches, we are charting a trailblazing trajectory for small and medium-sized museums to navigate the landscape of institutional innovation.