Sources from the State Bureau of Cultural Relics (SBCR) say that relevant departments of China are engaging in a preparatory work for the construction of a National Museum.

Zhang Wenbin, director of SBCR said that the state will complete the preparatory work for the National Museum during the "10th Five-year Plan" period (2001-2005), including choosing site, removal of old buildings on the site, designing and inviting and appraising bids. The project is as expected to be kicked off during the next five-year plan period.

As reported the national museum will cover a wide range of categories, such as history, nationality, folklore and customs, arts and international friendship, etc.

The report also has it that the Museum of Chinese Revolution and Museum of Chinese History with their shabby and aging facilities have been serving as the national museum for a long time. They can no longer meet the basic requirement for the keeping and exhibition of more than 500,000 pieces of cultural relics.

They can hardly match the newly-built Shanghai Museum and the History Museum of Shaanxi Province, let alone the first-rate state-of-art museums in the world. As the circumstance stands it is no longer in harmony with the profile of our country. So the establishment of a National Museum is something quite essential now.

(People's Daily 04/19/2001)