Topic 12 Why people go to museums? When people travel to new places, they often choose the local museums as a must-see place

When people travel to new places, they often choose the local museums as a must-see place. Sometimes the museums are even more attractive than the most famous place of interest. This phenomenon can be easily explained if the function of museums is taken into account. As we have known, museums can help us understand the history, the customs and the most representative arts and crafts (ремесла) of a place.

Different place has different history. And the most convenient way to understand the history is to visit the local museum. Last year when I traveled to Xi'an, an ancient city of China, I went to the history museum to explore the course of the city's development. With the background knowledge provided by the museum, I found that it was much easier for me to understand the city. So the museum can take away barriers between the tourists and the city by help the tourists to be familiar with the city's history. To a tourist, the most interesting aspect of a new place is usually its customs, which can be demonstrated by the local museum. The Beijing Custom Museum vividly (ярко, живо, наглядно) shows the real life, the traditions and customs of typical Beijingnese. A visitor can satisfy his curiosity (любопытство) by learning about the origin and characteristics of the quart-yard - the traditional residential building style of Beijing. Thus, with the help of museums, tourists can have a deeper understanding of local people's life and their customs.

Every place has its own representative (типичные, характерные) arts and crafts. Tourists can have the access to a wonderful show of these arts and crafts in the local museum. For example, in the town of Jing-De-Zhen, which is famous for its pottery-making, tourists can be excited by the beautiful pottery products (продукты глиняной посуды) and the complicated making process exhibited in the pottery museum. It will be a pity if a tourist missed the wonderful show of the local arts and crafts in the museum. In a word, museums serve as a bridge between tourists and the place they visit. That is why people are so eager (так стремятся) to visit museums when they travel to new places.