The Best Beijing Museums

Whether you're visiting Beijing on business or for a relaxing vacation, you should make a point of visiting some of the many Beijing museums you're sure to see. The city takes great pride in its excellent museums, and you'll find that no matter what your interests may be, there are museums and exhibitions that will delight and entertain, as well as offer insight into the city's rich history. Spend a day visiting these Beijing museums, and you'll walk away with a deeper understanding of your travel destination.

Chinese National Museum

As its name suggests, the Chinese National Museum is the country's premier museum. It is located east of Tiananmen Square, and it dates back to 1912 with the foundation of the National Modern Museum. Today, the Chinese National Museum's size and the expansiveness of its collection are massive. Its 45,000 square meters (split across two parts on site) house more than 30 million pieces, including over a million photos and 2,000 premier artifacts. While you're visiting this fantastic Beijing museum, you can also browse through its library of more than two million books. The entire nation mobilized to make this museum the best it can be, and citizens and scholars alike have scoured the country to find breath taking artifacts that offer a complete history of China.

Beijing Art Museum

The Beijing Art Museum is one of the city's top museums devoted to the arts. Founded in 1985, its collection consists of 50,000 pieces that range in date from early civilization to the Qing dynasty. You'll find works by foreign artists at the Beijing Art Museum, but the best offerings are those done by domestic masters. Even if art isn't your thing, you should check out this Beijing museum for its architecture and location. It can be found in the Temple of Longevity, a 50 acre complex of gardens and palaces from the Ming Dynasty. It is as beautiful as the art it contains, and relaxing in the gardens after wandering through the museum is an excellent diversion.

Beijing Capital Museum

For the city's other top art museum, head to the Beijing Capital Museum. It too is housed in a beautiful location (the Confucius Temple), and the architectural melding of traditional bronze, stone, and wood with steel and glass make this Beijing museum a work of art in its own right. Inside, you'll find five floors devoted to Chinese history, art, and culture, with numerous permanent exhibitions and a revolving array of temporary exhibits. Its two top exhibitions - "Ancient Capital Beijing - History and Culture" and "Ancient Capital Beijing - Urban Construction" – are considered among the best in the world, and they should not be missed. Other exhibitions, like the Fine Collection of Ancient Beijing Bronze Art and Fine Artistic Collection of Ancient Jade Ware, include works that have come to represent Chinese culture and artistic tradition. The Beijing Capital Museum is one of the top Beijing museums, and it's more than worthy of a visit.

Beijing Natural History Museum

If you have kids, a morning at the Beijing Natural History Museum is a good way to get them excited about a day of sightseeing in China's capital. State of the art facilities house specimen in paleontology, botany, and anthropology. Its collections of dinosaurs and skeletons that were unearthed in China will surely interest your kids, and you'll probably find it difficult to pry yourself away from these exhibits as well. For kids and inquisitive minds of all ages, this Beijing museum is fun and informative.

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