WANG Zhigang has had a very productive 2004. Under his guidance, a book about the Shanghai Museum of Public Security will be published soon.

His other forthcoming publications include a collection of legal novels and a photographic volume entitled, Hello Barcelona.

With his bespectacled studious appearance, people often take Wang for scholar, writer or even a photographer. "No one is able to work out my true identity at a first meeting," he said. "Actually, I have worked in the police field for at least 20 years."

Wang started his career as an ordinary policeman at a local police station in 1981. Now, he has become the curator of the Shanghai Museum of Public Security.

Cultivated mind

"I never expected to work in a museum some day," Wang said.

Nevertheless, Wang revealed a special interest in classical literature at an early age and soon developed impressive writing abilities. Until the present day he has continued to write and create in his leisure time.

At first hearing, it was hard to understand how a policeman had transformed himself into a curator. But Wang attributed his successful career shift to his profound immersion in literature.

"That is a basic requirement for any curator who participates in the operation and management of a museum," Wang emphasized. "All working staff must pay attention to their self-cultivation."

Therefore, the first task Wang set himself after taking up his official post was to set about creating a harmonious and tasteful office environment.

In contrast to other public museums, the Shanghai Museum of Public Security is an industrial museum, serving as a bridge connecting ordinary people with the public security apparatus.

According to Wang, the specialization of the police profession has stimulated popular curiosity about its mysteries. "So the museum will play the role of a window, helping ordinary people to find out more about the public security field," he said.

Closer investigation

The Shanghai Museum of Public Security was established in September 1999, after more than a year of preparation.

"Previously, when I visited the museum, I was an ordinary visitor who only bothered to examine the items I was interested in," Wang said.

But at the end of 2002, Wang was appointed curator of the museum. He was not an ordinary visitor any more. He spent two weeks reading all the materials related to the museum and started to understand the museum from a different point of view.

"To establish a museum of public security means creating an enterprise culture for the police," Wang said. He felt that it was an admirable achievement to have established such a major museum in a very short time.

However, after deep research into the museum, some problems began to emerge gradually.

"We have established the main framework for the whole museum, but we do not have a clear thread telling us how to display our exhibits," he said.

In addition, Wang found that the management of the museum was not being carried out in accordance with the principles of modern museum management.

Traditionally, people thought that museums were places to store and collect valuable articles, to develop scientific research or to educate ordinary people. But the development of museums should also keep up with times, according to Wang. "A new element that should be introduced into the development of museums is that of providing entertainment and a leisure activity for visitors," he said.

Focused on visitors

Wang's management ideas are focused on visitors and exhibits. "It is only by attracting more visitors that the museum can realize its social values," he said.

Wang undertook a careful investigation into all the exhibits that the museum has collected and decided to adjust their presentation to better cater to the audience's needs. Previously, the museum was organized into ten halls, each with a different topic, among which the gear and equipment hall was the most interesting for most visitors, whether men or women, old or young.

"A museum should have its own unique 'hot spot' to attract more visitors. Therefore, to make a breakthrough in this hall was my first step in re-organizing the whole layout of the museum," Wang said.

At the same time, Wang tried to expand the methods of collection in order to enrich the range of exhibits.

During the preparatory stage of the museum's development, many exhibits were contributed free of charge. Today, however, it has become impossible to depend on this way of collecting items, especially when people's interest in collecting cultural relics for themselves has risen greatly.

Under such conditions, Wang decided to pay contributors for any valuable items they offered to the museum. This measure will take effect soon.

Encouraged by the new approach, one private collector who had gathered over 200 police whistles over eight years has donated part of his collections to the museum.

Although his curatorial work took up much of his time, Wang still pursued his various hobbies.

Every morning, he got up early to swim for half an hour. Last summer, he went to Barcelona to attend the 10th World Police and Fire Games, where he attended the swimming match.

"It was called the Olympic Games in our police field," Wang said, more than 10,000 police from all over the world took part in the games.

During his stay in Barcelona, Wang took large numbers of photos, in his role as a keen amateur photographer. Passing through the corridor leading to his office, visitors will often be drawn to the large colourful photos hanging on both sides of the wall.

Wang was also working on a new book, this time about the Bible. He said that what made him feel happiest was the fact that his own personal interests could be narmoniously combined with his work.