The Gu Yuan Museum of Art is being expanded to accommodate large comprehensive exhibitions and, to reflect its greater role, has been renamed as the Zhuhai Museum of Art.

Groundbreaking was held Dec 25 on East Meihua Road near Sihxi Park at the foot of Fenghuang Mt in Old Xiangzhou. The renovation and expansion will take two years.

Planned are seven halls and 8,000 sqm (2 acres) of exhibition area for hundreds of woodcuts, sketches, and watercolor paintings in memory of woodprint maestro Gu Yuan as well as international exchanges and ordinary exhibitions. It will also contain a 2,800-sqm (30,139-sqft) professional collection repertory, lobby, central nave, classrooms, and art research rooms.

Rendering of Zhuhai Museum of Art [Photo provided to Guanhai App]

Two wings will be retained, while the central part is renovated and rear area expanded. The double A-shaped architecture will open wide to the west to integrate scenery of the adjacent Shixi Park.

Of total floorage of 20,005 sqm (5 acres), 4,555 sqm (1.1 acres) will be retained or renovated, and 15,450 sqm (4 acres) will be added, said Liu Chunchao, museum president. The South China Branch of General Construction of CCTEB Group is doing the construction.

In addition, the parking lot will be transformed into an art square with separate pedestrian and vehicle lanes, while the front square and small hill in the west will cover an underground parking lot, according to Ji Peidong, chief engineer of the Zhuhai Architectural Design Institute.

The facility is the only municipal public art museum in Zhuhai and was named after native Gu Yuan who was born in Nazhou Village of Tangjiawan. The museum hosts more than 60 exhibitions and receives more than 300,000 visitors annually.