Preface: The Chinese museum boom in broad strokes / Guan Qiang -- Introduction: Understanding China's museum boom / Gail Lord -- Part I: China's museum boom in context. 1. Lively places throbbing with life / An Laishun ; 2. A global perspective on museum "booms" and growth cycles / Javier Jimenez and Gail Lord ; 3. A brief history of Chinese museums to 1949 / Duan Yong ; 4. A brief history of Chinese museums 1949-1995 / Song Xiangguang ; 5. The musealization of China / Sofia Bollo and Yu Zhang ; 6. Balancing relic preservation policies and the social role of museums / Han Yong -- Part II: Museum building in China's new urban culture. 7. The urban boom meets museums / Doug Saunders ; 8. A museum born of real estate / Gao Peng ; 9. From densification to place-making in urban planning / Phil Enquist ; 10. Character-building and genius loci in museum architecture / He Jingtang ; 11. Creating bridges between contemporary art and life / Rebecca Catching -- Part III: Opening up to the world. 12. Cultural diplomacy and soft power / An Laishun ; 13. Exhibitions as tools of diplomacy / Zhou Ming ; 14. Navigating cross-cultural collaborations - a curatorial perspective / Chen Shen ; 15. Changing concepts and strategies for public engagement / Tomislav Sola ; 16. From inward-looking to outward-reaching and international museums / Tian Kai ; 17. The V&A's partnership with the Design Society in Shenzhen : an ongoing legacy of cultural diplomacy / Tim Reeve -- Part IV: Case studies in innovation. 18. Palace Museum : museum fever - keeping up with public demands for new experiences / Shan Jixiang ; 19. Shanghai Museum : "A History of the World in 100 Objects" - growing a capacity for institutional change / Yang Zhigang ; 20. Guangdong Museum : the dawn of the smart museum / Wei Jun ; 21. Natural history museums : underappreciated, yet wildly popular / Jian Guan ; 22. Suzhou Museum : harnessing the power of people, products, and place / Chen Ruijin ; 23. Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum : embers of memory / Zhu Pei -- Conclusion: Toward a sustainable future : "feeling the stones as we cross the river" / Javier Jimenez, Gail Lord, and Rebecca Catching.