Beijing Museums

Beijing Museums 博物館

Beijing has some fascinating museums and art galleries, many of which were upgraded for the 2008 Olympics.

Visitors and residents can purchase the useful annual museum pass which provides discounts and free entry to over 80 of the city's museums.

Millennium Monument, Beijing, China. — Museums in Beijing

Dashanzi - Factory 798 Arts Area

Dashanzi

Dashanzi - Factory 798 Arts Area is the is the center of Beijing's modern art community.

Housed in a 1950s factory complex the 200,000 square meter area is home to such art luminaries as Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, Marella Gallery, Chinese Contemporary, White Space and Beijing Commune.

Mingle with the in-crowd in the Dashanzi area's fashionable galleries, restaurants and cafes and pick up a bargain to take home.

National Museum of China

National Museum

Located on the east side of Tiananmen Square, The National Museum of China was built in 1959 as one of the "Ten Great Constructions" completed for the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949.

Located in a 300m-long, two-winged building on the east of Tiananmen Sqaure facing the Great Hall of the People. The national Museum is a combination of the previous Museum of Chinese History previously housed in the south wing and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution which was in the north wing.

Police Museum

Beijing Police Museum, located in the Foreign Legation Quarter, occupies the former CitiBank building. The quirky museum offers an interesting insight into the history, equipment and methods of China's police forces.

The Beijing Police Museum has over 8,000 police weapons and tools collected since the Han Dynasty, an interesting display of forensic fingerprinting techniques and some gruesome instruments of torture.

Capital Museum

Capital Museum & Millennium Monument

Beijing's Capital Museum has now emerged from obscurity to become a leading Chinese cultural institution, attracting visitors with its easy accessibility and frequently changing temporary exhibitions.

Resembling an outsized sundial pointing directly south to Beijing West train station, Beijing's Capital Museum, a huge concrete edifice was built to embody Beijing's triumphant 21st century aspirations in stone.

Jiu Chang Art Complex

Jiu Chang Art Complex on An Wai Bei Yuan Lu, Chao Yang District, Beijing is a new collection of art galleries.

This area using factory buildings from a recently demolished hutong makes for a fascinating wander among many different galleries displaying photography, pencil sketches, oil paintings and sculpture.

Keep your eyes open for some rather interesting outdoor sculpture displays as you wander from gallery to gallery.

NAMOC

National Art Museum of China (NAMOC)

The vast National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), previously known as the China Art Gallery has become a leading showcase for both domestic Chinese and foreign contemporary art exhibitions.

Completely revamped and upgraded in 2003 to meet international standards on its 40th anniversary, National Art Museum of China, the largest art gallery in China is now at the vanguard of modern art shows in China.

Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall

Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

Touted by the Chinese as the 'only large-sized comprehensive memorial for this special topic in China', this war museum was built with the mission of documenting China's version of World War II history between the period from 1931 to 1945, with a particular focus, as the name suggests, on the anti-Japanese resistance efforts.

The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression displays a vast collection of material - over 3800 photographs, as well as 5000 cultural relics and other artifacts.

Forbidden City, Beijing. — Palace Museum, Forbidden City, Beijing, China

Palace Museum (Forbidden City 紫禁城)

The Forbidden City, otherwise known as the Palace Museum, is one of the must-see sights in Beijing. With a supposedly huge total of 9999.5 rooms (because only heaven could have 10,000 rooms) and an area of over 720,000 square metres, it was the Imperial residence during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Forbidden City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a powerful national symbol which appears on the official seal of the PRC.

Construction of the Palace began around 1407, during the reign of Yongle, the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty. It is thought that up to a million workers may have been coerced into working on the palace's construction. It was inhabited by more than 20 Emperors, and during that time built up an incredible collection of treasures and artwork. The palace was burnt to the ground when the Manchus stormed it in 1644, and has been comprehensively looted on several occasions in its history but there's still plenty to see.

The name "forbidden city" is a translation of one of the Chinese terms for it - 紫禁城 - Zījĭncheng, so called because ordinary folk would be punished by death if they found their way in uninvited. The Forbidden City is also referred to as 故宫 - Gugong.

Numismatic Museum, Fuxingmen, Beijing, China. — China Numismatic Museum

China Numismatic Museum (National Coin Museum) 中国钱币博物馆

The China Numismatic Museum (National Coin Museum) is a state museum attached to the head office of the People's Bank of China. It prides itself on collecting, displaying, researching and publicizing coins. The first floor has a special display area exhibiting different specie. All sets of RMB specimens issued by the People's Bank of China are on display. Additionally you will also discover the National Coin Museum collects more than 100 overseas coins with the majority of them issued in the 19th century.

Address: No.17 Xijiaominxiang, Xicheng District 西城区西交民巷17号

National Arts and Crafts Museum 中国工艺美术馆

The National Arts and Crafts Museum, on the fifth floor of Parkson department store in Fuxingmen, is a place for collecting and displaying contemporary Chinese ethnic art.

It opened in July 1990; with its title inscribed by Deng Xiaoping. Construction of the museum is a successful combination of traditional architectural style and modern decorative art infused with rich Chinese national color.

It looks like a flower in bud from afar. The museum consists of an entry hall, show hall and treasure hall. The entry hall wall is embedded with a huge mural named Xingshan Shenzhou engraved in bronze; it shows the accomplishment of Chinese arts and crafts over the past 5000 years.

The display hall exhibits Chinese art and crafts including jade, ivory carving, wood carving, stone carving, pottery, lacquer work, jewelry, enamel, tin ware and copper products.

Address: No.101, Fuxingmennei Avenue, Xicheng District 西城区复兴门内大街101号

Tel: 66012024

Beijing Lu Xun Museum 鲁迅博物馆

Lu Xun (1881-1936) was a famous writer, ideologist and revolutionary most remembered for his great satirical story The True Story of Ah Q. Beijing Lu Xun Museum in the Fuchengmen district is the earliest biographical literary museum established in 1956 after the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949.

Lu Xun's former courtyard residence has been renovated and preserved as a museum with an exhibition hall nearby. The delightful small quadrangle with gray walls and wooden windows is an exact reproduction of Luxun's lifestyle at that particular time in China's long history. Lu Xun's manuscripts and furnishings are displayed in the exhibition hall along with a photo exhibition of the author's life.

The Lu Xun Xuan restaurant is east of the south gate of Lu Xun Museum.

Address: #19 Gongmenkouertiao, Fuchenmen, Xicheng District 西城区阜成门宫门口二条19号

Tel: 6615 6549

Beijing Military Museum — Military Museum

Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution

The Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution (中国人民革命军事博物馆) displays military equipment from the People's Liberation Army both historic and contemporary weaponry. On display are Chinese Cold War-era fighter planes, tanks and surface-to-air missiles, as well as captured American tanks from the Korean conflict, U2 spy plane wreckage and historic weapons and armor. The museum has information on the Korean War, the Opium War and the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions. The Military Museum is south of Yuyuantan Park.