Xiaoshan district in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province signs an agreement with the Palace Museum on Nov 26 to cooperate in building a world tourism museum in the district. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

Xiaoshan district in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, signed an agreement with the Palace Museum on Nov 26 to cooperate in building a world tourism museum in the district. The museum has already begun construction and is expected to open at the end of next year.

According to the agreement, the two sides will strengthen cooperation in exhibit display, cultural product development and exhibition organization in the museum.

Tong Guili, Party chief of the district, expressed excitement about cooperating with Palace Museum, one of China's most iconic cultural and historical centers. She said that the museum currently under construction is designed to be the world's first tourism-focused multifunctional museum.

Wang Xudong, director of the Palace Museum, promised to conduct multi-faceted cooperation with Xiaoshan in order to promote the development of cultural and tourism industries.

The museum comes at the same time that Xiaoshan district is building the headquarters of the World Tourism Alliance on the district's Yahushan Island in hopes of attracting more tourists.

The China-initiated World Tourism Alliance, established in Chengdu, Sichuan province on Sept 12, 2017, is the first non-governmental and non-profit comprehensive international tourism organization.

The alliance signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Zhejiang on Dec 17, 2017 to set up its headquarters in Xiaoshan district, making it the first organization of its kind to be headquartered in Hangzhou.