A display hall will be set up in a shopping mall in Baoshan District this month to provide owners of small museums around the city a free space to show off their collections. 　

Oriental Plaza has set aside about 2,000 square meters on the third floor of the large shopping mall for the new museum. It has also signed up 20 small museum owners to display their collections, which include old keys, butterflies and pottery. 　

Jiang Xingzhen, the plaza manager in charge of the museum, said her company has spent more than five million yuan (US$625,000) on the project, which combines commerce with folk culture. Collectors are being offered exhibition space, and display equipment free of charge. The plaza has also bought insurance for the exhibits against theft or destruction. 　　

"We have signed a six-month contract with the first group of collectors, which will assure them of a certain amount of income during the period," She said. 　　

About 100,000 free tickets will be available in the first three months and it is possible a small admission fee will be charged if the hall proves a success. The main idea, however, is to attract more shoppers to the plaza. 　

More than 100 collectors in the city run their own small museums, usually out of their homes. Many have had trouble attracting people to their museums, or can't find new homes for collections when urban construction forces them to move. 　　

Abacus collector Ge Xinhua said he was excited about an invitation to show his collection in the plaza as he has been struggling to find a new home for more than 1,000 of his abacuses since October when his neighborhood near Suzhou Creek began to be demolished. 　　

"Thanks to the museum, I can finally settle down and find an ideal platform to show my collection," he said. 　　

(Shanghaidaily.com December 20, 2006)