Visitors check out precious cultural relics and pictures at the Nantong Museum. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Nantong Museum – located in the Chongchuan district of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – saw a sudden spike in visitors on May 18, coming to explore the city's glorious past and hear stories about its famous historical figures, on the occasion of the 45th International Museum Day.

Its new exhibition hall displays more than 850 cultural relics, which leads visitors through especially created time and space tunnels, enabling them to appreciate the splendor of Nantong's ancient civilization. There are also images, models and simulated real-life scenes to engage with them and assist in their understanding. Multimedia tools provide an interactive experience.

The second floor exhibits more than 200 cultural relics, to fully recount the life of Zhang Jian (1853-1926), a leading Nantong-born social reformer and industrial entrepreneur in early 20th-century China.

These days his deeds are praised in six particular areas: his patriotism, open mind, innovative spirit, integrity, social responsibility and inheritance of his spirit.

Ji Qing, a tourist from the city of Wuxi, said that it couldn't have been easy for Zhang to do so much at that time, which was very admirable.

To visit the museum, visitors need to make a reservation through the official WeChat account (ID: NantongMuseum) in advance. An ID card is a must, if you are unable to provide an itinerary of your activities. It is not allowed to remove face masks during the visit.