Coral Reef Museum on Weizhou Island
The Coral Reef Museum is located near Dishuidanping Beach on Weizhou Island, Beihai. Construction began on August 18, 2019, and it covers a total area of 550 square meters. It was officially opened to the public on August 21, 2020, free of charge to all visitors.
Opening Ceremony of the Coral Reef Museum
The Coral Reef Museum serves as the "coral reef protection and restoration scientific science demonstration base", constructed by the School of Marine Science, Guangxi University. It stands as China's largest public science museum dedicated to coral reefs, emphasizing themes of coral reef protection and restoration. The Coral Reef Museum features:
4 exhibition halls and 14 sub-sections, focusing on coral reef ecosystems, coral reef degradation and its causes, coral reef protection and ecological restoration, and exploring the ocean world.
25 species of cultivated coral, over 1,000 live reef creatures, and more than 500 specimens.
1 large ecological tank, 1 coral reef ecological display tank, 2 large breeding tanks, 1 set of coral sexual reproduction systems (including 6 independent experimental tanks), 1 underwater visual monitoring system, and 90m³ of aquaculture water.
Scene photo of the Coral Reef Museum
Theme exhibition hall of the Coral Reef Museum
Underwater real-time monitoring
The Coral Museum has always adhered to the concept of "free admission" as its foundation and "public science" as its core, urging the public to act as protectors, overseers, and advocates for coral reefs. Up to now, the Coral Museum has received and hosted:
More than 250,000 visitors, including staff from state organs, employees from enterprises and public institutions, experts and scholars from universities and research institutes, students, news media journalists, volunteers, divers, and others.
More than 150 public science activities have been held, directly benefiting over 8,000 people.
Professor Yu shares his story of coral reef research
Public science activities on the Coral Reef Museum
Activities of World Reef Day in 2023
Since its establishment, the Coral Reef Museum has obtained more than 20 honorary titles and plaques, including:
In December 2019, Naxiang, Secretary of the Party Group and Vice Chairman of the Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association, personally awarded the plaque of "Guangxi Science Popularization Base" to Coral Hall.
In January 2020, the China Association for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance of China jointly awarded Coral Hall the title of "Weizhou Island Coral Hall Science Popularization Education Base" (2020 grassroots science popularization action plan implementation unit).
In March 2020, Coral Hall assisted Weizhou Island Scenic Spot in winning the plaque of "Guangxi Primary and Secondary School Students Research Experimental Education Base" awarded by the Autonomous Region Education Department.
On September 20, 2020, Coral Hall organized the first Coral Day and National Science Popularization Day activities, winning the Outstanding Characteristic Activity Award of the 2020 "Eight-Gui Science Popularization Action" issued by the Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association.
In 2021, Coral Hall was awarded the title of "Guangxi Marine Science Popularization and Awareness Education Base" jointly by the Autonomous Region Oceanic Bureau, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Science and Technology Association.
In August 2023, Coral Hall was designated the "Guangxi Kepu Education Base" by the Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association.
In January 2024, Coral Hall was jointly awarded the title of "Guangxi Excellent Science Popularization Education Base" by the Autonomous Region Science and Technology Association, the Autonomous Region Science and Technology Department, the Autonomous Region Social Science Federation, and the Communist Youth League Guangxi District Committee.
Honor of the Coral Reef Museum
Our work has been widely recognized and has garnered significant societal concern. Through our unremitting efforts, the world's attention has been focused on coral, encouraging more people to join the ranks of those protecting coral and the ocean. The Coral Hall has been featured in over 150 reports by news media such as Xinhua News Agency, Xinhuanet.com, People's Daily Online, China Central Broadcasting and Television, and Guangxi Radio and Television Station, accumulating more than 100 million page views.
On December 23, 2020, the seabed real-time monitoring system used by the Institute of Oceanography successfully commenced operations in the Weizhou Island restoration experimental area. Real-time monitoring data is accessible via mobile phones, websites, and other platforms. This project was featured in a video news release by Xinhua News Agency: "Seabed Monitoring Helps Coral Reef Restoration" (video news).
On April 9, 2021, our research team first cultivated various corals in the laboratory and subsequently "planted" them in the restoration area of Weizhou Island once they had matured. This restoration effort garnered strong support from the local government and attracted numerous volunteers. It was featured in a video news release by Xinhua News Agency: "Look! They 'Plant' Coral on the Seabed" (photo + video news).
On June 8, 2022, the World Oceans Day science popularization event "Coral Children: Nurturing and Battling" was covered by CCTV media (CCTV News).
In January 2023, "Innovation in Progress" aired three episodes on CCTV's CCTV-10 Science and Education Channel, highlighting Guangxi University's efforts to save the underwater rainforest through coral planting.
The 2023 World Coral Day science popularization event "Generation Restoration: Walking with the Sea" featured an underwater live broadcast of coral reef planting activities, co-hosted by local TV stations and 36 news media outlets including People's Daily, Guangming Daily, and China Fortune Network. The live broadcast attracted 1.676 million views, with related topics generating 1.101 million page views. Across online platforms, the total page views reached 2.777 million (graphic + video news).
Media coverage of the Coral Reef Museum
