China's main event marking 2015 International Museum Day was held on Monday at the Hebei Museum in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province.

Li Xiaojie, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, announced at the event that — by the end of 2014 — China had 4,510 registered museums, 345 more than the previous year, and 21.8 percent are private museums, 2.3 percent more than 2013.

The event was co-organized by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and Hebei provincial government, and the hosts announced the country’s top 10 best museum exhibitions in 2014, including Han Dynasty in Mancheng County, a major cultural heritage display still ongoing in the Hebei Museum.

The museum also opened several special exhibitions on Monday for the celebration. For example, one picture exhibition on the Hebei city of Zhangjiakou's bidding to be co-host city of 2022 Winter Olympic Games. That show echoes this year's slogan of International Museum Day: "Museum, dedicated to sustainable development of the society."

International Museum Day was initiated by the International Council of Museums in 1977 to raise public awareness about the importance of museums.

Though China's museums regularly close on Mondays, most opened their doors to the public on May 18 for the celebration.

Related:

China's museums increase rapidly

Beijing's 10 strangest museums