On March 25, the opening ceremony for the Huayang South China Sea Exhibition (Online) was held in Boao. Wu Shicun, Chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, and Zheng Yongnian, Dean of the School of Public Policy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Chairman of the Guangzhou Institute of the Greater Bay Area, respectively delivered remarks. More than 40 representatives from universities, research institutions, and media organizations in China and abroad attended the ceremony.

Wu Shicun stated that the Huayang South China Sea Exhibition (Online) takes historical materials as its framework and historical facts as its thread. Through a digital exhibition hall, it presents the historical truth of the South China Sea by displaying documentary evidence, texts, images, videos, and salvaged ceramics that illuminate the historical basis of the South China Sea issue and clarify its origins. It is dedicated to presenting a truthful narrative of the South China Sea, promoting the return of international discourse on the South China Sea to historical truth, and fostering a favorable public opinion environment for cooperation and governance in the South China Sea.

Zheng Yongnian noted that the Huayang South China Sea Exhibition (Online) is an important initiative by the Huayang Center to explore new approaches to building a South China Sea discourse system and to effectively enhance the international communication impact of South China Sea narratives.

The Huayang South China Sea Exhibition is organized into five thematic sections: the historical origins of the South China Sea; the history of the Chinese government’s defense of its rights and interests in the South China Sea in modern times; the practice of the People’s Republic of China in safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea; the South China Sea and its islands as depicted in Chinese and foreign maps; and a selection of publicly available research products by the Huayang Center since its establishment in service of the country’s major South China Sea-related strategies. Presented in both Chinese and English, and combining online and offline formats, the exhibition is open to both domestic and international audiences.

The offline venue of the Huayang South China Sea Exhibition is located in the Huayang Center’s Haikou office (Jiangdong New Area), with a floor area of approximately 300 square meters. It officially opened in Haikou on December 23 and has since been open to the public.