The Museum will be located on the island of Pingtan in Fujian province. It will be built on an artificial island connected to Pingtan by a long, stylized pier, a metaphor for the path between history and future. The futuristic looking building will cover 430,000 square feet and comes with a price tag of $130 million. It will have green spaces for the public’s enjoyment and exhibition rooms to house the magnificent collection. The Pingtan Museum will be built on a manmade surface featuring three distinctive mounds created with concrete mixed with sand and local seashells. The undulating structures will seamlessly blend with the surrounding landscape.
The outside of the buildings will resemble sand dunes around a lush oasis, the perfect place to invite public activities in an island-museum that is poised to bring a high social presence to a town that has not been established yet. The interior space, which will house thousands of historic artifacts, will evoke the ancient caves that exist in this region of China.
The location of the new Museum is strategic move by Chinese officials. Pingtan is the largest island in Fujian province with a small population that makes a living through fishing, There is a military base on the island and little else. Pingtan is the closest island to the R.O.C. (Taiwan), and the museum will anchor a large construction boom, intended to facilitate communications between the Peoples Republic and Taiwan, increasing commercial and cultural exchanges between the two Chinas. The quiet, idyllic enclave will quickly become a bustling city, according to Chinese plans.
Once again, art will act as a tourist attraction and meeting point, especially since the construction of the museum is such an architectural marvel worthy of a visit. Although the proposal from MAD Architects is already underway, the date of completion is not yet known. We have time to book our airline tickets: destination Pingtan. ■
