Beijing Minsheng Art Museum, one of the country's largest private museums, is open to the public with its inaugural show The Civil Power.

The Beijing branch of the Mingsheng Art Museum and the Contemporary Art Terminal opened with a large-scale inaugural exhibition featuring contemporary art.

China has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of private museums and art galleries over the past five years. The country’s 456 private museums, 13 percent of the nation’s total, play an important role in China’s cultural life.

Experts says China is focused on opening more museums while the problem of setting up diversified exhibition programs and finding an audience is delayed.

According to Xie Suzhen, head of Today Art Museum and art director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Yinchuan, funding is not the main restriction in the development of private museums. Instead, they need to find their own position, adjust strategies and struggle for more visitors.

“There are hundreds of private art museums in China, but what’s the difference between their positions and destinations? If all museums point to contemporary art, it will be really senseless. Similarity slows down the development of private museums. The main difficulty is a lack of visitors,” Xie said.

Chinese art critic Lv Peng also pointed out that the increase in private contemporary art museums helps to popularize art and boost academic exchanges, but what to do next for these museums is the most pivotal step.

“The establishment of these private museums brings more people into contact with contemporary art. However, there are too many works in the museums, instead of things like academic introduction of contemporary art. Variety is what we lack,” Lv said.

Considered one of the country's biggest private art museums, Beijing Mingsheng focuses on “civil power”. With the advantage of funding and the resource of contemporary artists in China, it plans to create a social public space by holding concerts, fashion shows and other performances.

Huang Zhuan, executive director of the Contemporary Art Terminal Institute, describes the art world as a glacier. Shows, art museums and auctions are only the tip of an iceberg. What lies underneath is research and education and the institute dives deep to do the research.

According to Xie Suzhen, the position of the institute has a new style of its own. “It sets its own document database, and maintains a solid academic pursuit. This is an unfamiliar way in the field of contemporary art museums, but it is a right way. It will attract the real contemporary art lovers, and they will find what they need here,” Xie said.