Fact: In 1949 China had just 25 museums, and hordes of the country’s most precious treasures had been shipped off with the Kuomintang to Taipei. But in recent years China has gone museum-mad, with Beijing alone boasting over 160 places to peer at old things behind glass.
So we figured it’s time to roll up our khaki sleeves, don our Indiana Jones hats, whips, wisecracks (and passports – you’ll usually need them to get in), and check out the best and the rest of Beijing museums.
(Note: for the purposes of this list we are excluding contemporary art museums)
National Museum of China
The largest museum in the world, but is bigger always better? We found ourselves wishing for more story-telling as we browsed the humongous galleries of artefacts.
The National Museum was built in 1959 at Tiananmen Square as one of Mao’s “Ten Great Buildings” to showcase the triumphs of the CPC after a decade in power. Reopened in 2011 after major expansion, it’s still largely about the triumphs – a historic highlights edit of how China sees itself and wishes to be perceived by outsiders. This in itself will be interesting to some, but ultimately we found it frustrating.
Highlight: the Terracotta Warrior or the Houmuwu ding from the Shang Dynasty, the largest bronze vessel in the world weighing over 800kg.
INDY RATING: “He chose… poorly.”
Where? Northeast corner of Tiananmen Square
Poly Art Museum
One of Beijing’s best kept secrets, you buy a ticket from the information counter in the lobby of the corporate Poly Plaza office building, then ride the lift to the ninth floor… Inside, bronze ware and Buddhist sculptures are exquisitely displayed with angled lighting and artful plinths. Many of the objects are not hidden behind glass, and you’ll probably have the place all to yourself, so it’s rather like viewing antiques in someone’s home. We found it a truly inspiring experience.
This is a private collection with many items purchased and repatriated from overseas auction houses; go up to the 10th floor to see various other artefacts intended for auction, including porcelain vases for tens of millions of yuan.
Highlight: half of the 12 legendary ‘zodiac sculptures’ that once adorned a fountain in Beijing’s Old Summer Palace (they’re still rounding up the rest)
INDY RATING: “Fortune and glory, kid.”
Where? 9th floor, Poly Plaza, 14 Dongzhimen Nandajie
The Capital Museum
TCM tracks the history of Beijing from the Jin Dynasty to the 20th century with a clear, smartly-designed timeline exhibit in its main gallery. English doesn’t extend beyond basic captions, so get the audio guide if you crave more detail.
Elsewhere, though, it’s all a bit vague, with too many dull video displays and an entire floor given over to a faux recreated hutong with (genuine!) stone door piers, lintels and statues of people in traditional dress blowing sugar animals. Umm, this is all alive and well in the actual hutongs!
Highlight: a room with eight panoramic video screens recreating the moment that Mao proclaimed the founding of the CPC. Feel the zeal!
INDY RATING: “He chose… poorly.”
Where? 16 Fuxingmenwai Dajie
Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution
The fog of war is heavy when it comes to charting the heroic military escapades of the PLA, but we say skip the campaign maps and head straight to the very aptly name Hall of Weapons. Guns. Bombs. Stabby things. More bombs. And missiles. And artillery! Did we mention tanks?
The building itself (another of Mao’s “Ten Great Buildings” and crested with a red star) is a masterpiece of socialist realism; climb to the balcony of the main hall for panoramic views of enough military hardware to resist a hostile alien invasion.
Highlights: Sitting in a Cold War-era Soviet MIG fighter jet
INDY RATING: “Fortune and glory, kid.”
Where? 9 Fuxing Lu (has its own subway stop on Line 1)
Former Residence of Soong Ching-Ling
The second wife of Sun Yat-sen, Soong Ching-Ling lived in this Houhai mansion from 1963 to her death in 1981. Much of the rooms are as she left them, and a purpose-built museum recounts her remarkable life in riveting detail, with excellent English captions. Read our full write-up here!
Highlights: limousine gifted to Soong Ching-Ling by comrade Stalin
INDY RATING: “Fortune and glory, kid.”
Where? North shore of Houhai Lake
Paleozoological Museum of China
If you’re serious about dinosaurs, skip the dismal Natural History Museum and head here for China’s best array of authentic skeletons and fossils. They have a superb Stegadon (giant Mammoth type creature), a long-necked Lufengosaurus, the first dinosaur discovered in China, named after some rocks in Yunnan. There’s even a prehistoric bird called a Confuciusornis discovered in 1993, named after – can you guess?
Highlight: The mighty Mamenchisaurus, Asia’s largest known dinosaur
INDY RATING: “Fortune and glory, kid.”
Where? 42 Xizhimen Outer St
Hutong Artefacts Museum (Laowujian Bowuguan)
This fascinating private museum close to the Drum and Bell Tower is accessible as part of our Hutong Tour with local guide Frank. Run by some elderly long-term hutong residents, it’s chock-full of unusual everyday items that would have been a part of daily life here during the Qing Dynasty.
Highlights: Trying to guess the hutong-related function of various unusually-shaped objects
INDY RATING: “Fortune and glory, kid.”
Where? Take out Hutong Tour and find out!
Songtangzhai Museum
Another hutong museum, this time conveniently equidistant from the Lama Temple and Confucius Temple. It’s toted by several guidebooks and the motives here are sound: the owner buys up artefacts like stone door piers, carved building slabs (some over 1000 years old) and old signs – all from hutong courtyards about to face the wrecking ball.
Sadly the presentation is minimal (think heaps of stones) and the 50 RMB entry fee is steep for what amounts to about 10 minutes of browsing.
Highlights: Carved masonry from the Jin Dynasty
INDY RATING: “He choose… poorly.”
Where? 3 Guozijian, east of Confucius Temple entrance
If you love uncovering history in Beijing, or have a friend or family member who does, why not try one of our expert-led Signature Experiences like Exploring Chinese Thought, Historian-led Great Wall Tour, or The Real Tiananmen Square?
About the author: Tom O’Malley is Propaganda Secretary at Bespoke Beijing. A lifestyle journalist, guidebook author, glutton and bon vivant, Tom is a tireless crusader for fine food, hospitality and tourist experiences in China’s capital.