An Analysis of Chinese Ecomuseums in Relation to Ecomuseum Theories and Principles

The main aim of this article is to reflect on the status of ecomuseums in China. There have been both ecomuseums and discourse about them for many years in China. However, despite the existence of academic literature on ecomuseums and therefore to the general theory of ecomuseums, from some points of view Chinese ecomuseums do not seem to be aligned with general ecomuseum principles. This article reflects both on how well ecomuseums in China fit the ecomuseum characteristics defined by the theory and, ultimately, on what we can learn from the Chinese experience. Our discussion is developed on the basis of both the existing academic literature and interviews conducted by the authors.