Portrait of Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici as Flora, by Italian painter Antonio Franchi (1638–1709), is on show. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An exhibition titled History of Museums was opened along with the forum, with a display through Aug 26 of artifacts tracing the development of museums in Europe and China.

Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangsu, is a historic city, serving as the capitals of several historic dynasties. The province was where the country's first museums were built in the early 20th century.

The forum was part of the four-day World Historical and Cultural Cities Expo that ended in Nanjing on Monday.