Night at China Customs Museum — A successful Educational Activity
Presents come to children through many customs of various countries
“President Xi proposes ‘One Belt and One Road’ to involve all countries. So this year, I have brought gifts to children around the world along the Silk Road with their best wishes. But each country has its own customs regulations and I am not sure if I have brought any banned items, because …”
Dutch customs: according to our customs regulation, one person is allowed to take only 400 duty-free cigarettes into our country and the surplus will be taxed or returned.
Italian customs: please forgive but according to our customs regulations, one person is allowed to take only 100g of duty-free tea into our country, and the surplus will be taxed.
Turkish customs: we are sorry but toy pistols and guns are not allowed to be taken into Turkey as a result of Turkish customs regulations. Please take them to the department that deals with safety checks in the airport.
In addition, Germany prohibits the import of live animals; the aviation administration prohibits the taking of knives onto planes. If passengers need to take any on board, they should check them in at reception. International Customs prohibit the import and export of any endangered animals and plants, as well as manufactured goods.
Arrival in China after a long journey
China Customs Museum organized an educational activity—”Travel around the world with Santa” at 18:00 on December 19 as Christmas was approaching. With the idea, the museum worked with Jiangxin Charity, and they were also assisted by volunteers from the University of International Business and Economics and the Capital University of Economics and Business.
On the day, about 60 pupils and more than 70 parents from Banchang Primary School attended. The activity included “Worldwide Customs Clearance” role-plays, “Travel around China” Customs quiz games, and hanging wish-making cards on a Christmas tree.
I was at the scene and chatted with some parents, knowing that:
- Parents won’t normally go to museums by themselves, but are willing to take their children to museums to gain knowledge.
- Parents always take their children to a few of the museums that they familiar with, and haven’t heard about, or visited, most of the museums in Beijing.
- Parents are more inclined to visit museums with no admission fee, and tend to consider that museums, as a public cultural institution, should be free of charge to all visitors.
Consequently, museums should make more effort to encourage people to visit, such as by increasing the publicity by distributing museum-related books and maps, and by expanding their activities from the museum building to its adjacent communities by focusing more on education rather than displays, as well as by improving public services and so on.