1. Main Conditions

        The Museum of Overseas Chinese was funded and established by overseas Chinese led by the famous patriotic overseas Chinese, Chen Jiagen. Opened in 1959, the museum is the only one in China which is specialized to display the history of overseas Chinese in a systematic way. It is located in Xiamen, a main port that overseas Chinese use to enter and leave mainland China. The museum holds 12,000 square meters and its building covers 9917 square meters. There are three exhibition halls, which focus on history, cultural relics and nature respectively.

        The Museum of Overseas Chinese has Research Department, Exhibition Department, Cultural Relics Storage Department, Security Department and the Executive Office. Nowadays the total staff is 32. Among them, 15 are diploma holders, 4 have the titles of high or middle post. Two are Master degree holders.

        The Overseas Chinese History Display in the History Exhibition Hall, utilizing the basic materials in the museum, new research materials and new displays, reflects overseas Chinese's history and achievements.  The Museum provides coverage for Overseas Chinese living all over the world.  At this point, it is the only display in China that exhibits completely the history of overseas Chinese.

        There are 6,500 items in The Museum of Overseas Chinese, including successive dynasties?pottery and porcelain ware, bronze ware, ancient coins, ancient calligraphy and painting, ancient carving crafts, foreign crafts, ceramics and glass utensils, calligraphy and painting, and animal specimens, etc. Some of them belong to first class cultural relics in China. These items are displayed by stages and in groups in the cultural relics and nature halls.

        The Museum of Overseas Chinese is planning to set up a Chinese History Hall and Overseas Chinese Figures Hall in the new wing of the Museum currently being built.

2. Overseas Chinese Books and Reference Materials

        There are 5,000 to 6,000 books and reference materials in the Reference Room in the Museum of Overseas Chinese, about 1,500 concerning overseas Chinese history and some periodicals and newspaper clippings.

The categories of Periodicals:
1. Overseas Chinese Going Abroad                2. Overseas Chinese History Research
3. Chinese and Foreign Culture Exchange       4. Overseas Chinese Art
5. Overseas Chinese Vital Statistics                6. Museum Research
7. Overseas Chinese Figures                          8. Overseas Chinese Economy
9. Chinese Literature                                    10. Chinese Culture Abroad
11. Overseas Chinese Issues                        12. Chinese Education
13. Returned Overseas Chinese figures         14. Immigration Issues
15. Overseas Chinese Association                16. Chinese Newspapers and Magazines
17. Overseas Chinese Affairs Policy             18. Politics
19. Students Studying Abroad

Categories of Newspaper Clippings:
1. Politics            2. Economy            3. Overseas Chinese Feelings       4. Science and Technology
5. Overseas Chinese's Contributions to the Countries of Residence
6. Overseas Chinese's Contributions to the Motherland
7. Chinese Education and Chinese Media                  8. Overseas Chinese History Research
9. Overseas Chinese Figures                                   10. Returned Overseas Chinese Figures
11. Immigration Issues                                            12. Overseas Chinese Associations
13. Chinese and Foreign Culture Exchange             14. Overseas Chinese Museum
15. Museum                                                          16. Overseas Chinese Affairs Policy
17. Chinese Culture Abroad                                  18. Students Studying Abroad

3. Research Work

1) Editing
a. The 30 Years of Overseas Chinese Museum (1989)
b. The 40 Years of Overseas Chinese Museum (1999)
c. Overseas Chinese Museum News   Issue 1 (1997)
d. Overseas Chinese Museum News   Issue 2 (1999)
e. Overseas Chinese Museum Introduction (Brochure)
f. One Log Become Forest---Sun Binyan and his era (1993)
g. Autographed Book of  Mr. Chen Deren (1999)

2) Over 70 Papers and Articles Published by our Researchers

3) Exhibitions of  Special Topics
a. Commemorative Exhibition of Nan Yang Overseas Chinese Who Returned to Resist Japanese Invasion --- to the World's Anti-Facist War. After display in the Museum, the Exhibition toured in Malaysia (1995)
b. Special Topic Exhibition:  Friendship, Cooperation, Chance---Southeast Asia Chinese Who Helped to Build Xiamen Economic Special Zone (1996)
c. Special Topic Exhibition:  Also, --- Celebrating the Return of Hong Kong to Mainland Chinese Control. (1997)
d. Sun Zhongshan and Overseas Chinese International Art Exhibition
      (Cooperation  1997)
e. Overseas Chinese Figures Exhibition  (1999)

4. Issues About Overseas Chinese Research Cooperation

1) The overseas Chinese research in our museum is culture-oriented, including Chinese education, Chinese literature, overseas Chinese and exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures, overseas Chinese figures, etc. and combines with exhibitions.  Several successful special topic exhibitions were based on our researchers?investigating, collecting cultural relics, material objects and information and sorting out, researching, discussing, scripting and producing them. According to the research fundamentals now available and the specialty of museum, we urgently need to cooperate and exchange ideas with the research institutions abroad in the field. Lack of cooperation and exchanges in the past have limited our resources. We hope to set up long-term relationships with these institutes and enlarge our vision and scope. We also hope to collect extensively cultural relics and material objects in and out China with the help of these institutions to improve our exhibitions and substantiate our contents, and make our museum become the global foundation for the display of overseas Chinese materials, Chinese history and overseas Chinese figures.

2) Our museum hopes to set up an association for International Overseas Chinese Research, an on-line magazine International Overseas Chinese Research News and build joint a joint web site -- Overseas Chinese Research News, and will do all that we can to ensure these goals. Now, our museum is creating some conditions actively. We have a registered E-mail address: OCM@public.xm.fi.cn. and are planning to set up our web page to connect with the world.

3) We hope our museum can become a member of "International Overseas Chinese Research Association?that will be initiated and built at the meeting. We will do our best to support and promote the projects and follow all the rules.