Fourteenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum

Abstract

In 2009, the Chinese government held the Great Sites Protection Summit Forum in Luoyang city to promote site museums’ integration into citizens’ lives. This paper selects the Luoyang Zhouwangcheng Emperor Six Horses Carriage Museum in Luoyang as an example to explore the relationship between its exhibitioner methods and the local environment. The museum has preserved the relics of the large-scale carriage and horse pit of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty at the original discovery site since 2002. It has a branch maintaining a similar discovery in 2009 in the Tanggong Road primary school, which integrates into local architectures. Because the museum and its branch locations in the city centre of Luoyang, their design and functions reflect many challenges that site museums need to face in the process of urban integration, including the limitation of space and preservation of archaeological discoveries. By resolving these challenges, this paper suggests that the museum develops a unique way to engage citizens, which provides a useful reference for understanding site museums in China.