With work on Shanghai's National Maritime Museum proceeding apace, one crucial question has emerged: What will go in its display cases?

To help answer this question, the authorities behind the project are appealing to the public to donate artifacts related to the country's sea-faring past.

The museum is set to open in September 2009. The site is located in the city's Luchaogang Port area, adjacent to the world's longest cross-sea bridge, the Donghai Bridge, which connects Yangshan Deepwater Port to Shanghai mainland. The museum is part of the city's plan to build itself into an international shipping center.

The National Maritime Museum will trace the development of the country's maritime history using relics, replicas, photographs and multimedia presentations. Its collection will include ancient compasses and replicas of the ships the 15th century mariner Zheng He used on his voyages to Southeast Asia and Africa.

However, officials from the Shanghai port administration bureau, which is in charge of the project, said recently they were having trouble finding enough exhibits to fill the space and appealed for donations from both home and abroad.

"We are looking for valuable items that record the changing of the country's maritime development," Xu Peixing, an official in charge of the preparation work for the museum, was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.

"We will consider buying, copying or renting particularly valuable items, and we will honor those who donate or would like to have their collections displayed in our museum."

The country's maritime history dates back thousands of years, and Shanghai was the first city in the country to develop a modern shipping industry. It is already a world-class international shipping hub.

The 500 million yuan ($64.7 million) project is set to be completed next year.

The museum will be divided into five halls and 12 zones. A theater is also in the plan.

(China Daily April 13, 2007)