China National Museum
Note: The museum has been reopened to the public for free since 27th March, 2011, but an entrance ticket is still required. Individual visitors can get the ticket from the ticket office near the west gate of the museum while group visitors need to reserve the ticket through telephone 2 days in advance and get the ticket at the ticket office near the north gate of the museum. The reservation number is 010 - 65116400 (09:00 - 16:00).
Coordinating with the Great Hall of the People, China National Museum is situated on the east side of the Tiananmen Square. It is a comprehensive museum, displaying collections, exhibitions, research, archaeology, public education and cultural communication.
Opened to the public on February, 2003, it was established based on the original China History Museum and China Revolutionary Museum. From March of 2007 to the end of 2010, it underwent a large scale reconstruction and expansion. At present, it has an architectural area of 200,000 square meters (49.4 acres), equipped with world-class hardware facilities and functions. In the museum, there are 1,060,000 pieces of collections, 48 exhibition halls, two basic displays named 'Ancient China' and 'the Road of Rejuvenation', as well as dozens of thematic and communication exhibitions.
Top Treasures:
Painted Pottery Basin with Human Face and Fish Design: this is a pottery treasure of the Neolithic Age, unearthed from the site of Banpo Village in Xian in 1955. It has a wide lip and is red in color, with black painted decorations of two opposing faces and two fish inside. The faces are round, with knots and scaly decorations on the top of the head. At the right and left sides of the mouth are two fish whose heads coincide with the exterior of the human's mouth, creating a unique merman-like form. Between the two human faces, there are two bigger fish chasing each other. Many similar basins have been excavated from the sites of the ancient human, and most of them were used as the cover of the burial jars for children.
Jar Showing a Stork with a Fish and a Stone Axe: Considered to be a burial jar of the Yangshuo Culture, it was unearthed from the Yancun Village, Linru County of Henan Province in 1980. It is a pottery jar with a colored painting outside. In the painting, a standing white stork with round eyes and a long beak is holding a fish in its mouth on the left. The fish is also white in color, with distinctive black lines depicting its outline. The stork is standing upright, and its eyes are very big and glorious. Conversely, the fish is stiff, and its eyes are rather small, appearing defenseless. On the right is an erect stone axe, with holes in its body and braids entwining round the handle.
Two Basic Displays:
Ancient China: Distributed throughout ten major exhibition halls, the Display of Ancient China shows the long historical process from the Prehistoric Times to the late Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) chronologically. With a large number of precious cultural relics, this display fully shows the continuous development of China's civilization, the process of building a multi-ethnic country, Chinese nation's brilliant achievements in politics, economy and culture, as well as the Chinese people's great contribution to human civilization. A total of 2,520 exhibits divided into 8 sections are displayed, including Prehistoric Times (1.7 million years ago - 21st Century BC), Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties (21st Century - 771 BC), Spring and Autumn Period & Warring States Period (770 - 221 BC), Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC - 220 AD), Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Southern and Northern dynasties (220 - 589), Sui, Tang, and Five dynasties (581 - 960), Liao, Song, Western Xia, Jin, and Yuan dynasties (916 - 1368), Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 - 1911).
The Road of Rejuvenation: The exhibitions in this section illustrates the glorious but long and winding course of achieving a dependant and prosperous country and national happiness over the past 175 years since the First Opium War in 1840.
Thematic and Communication Exhibitions:
China National Museum is also well-known for its various thematic exhibitions. The most popular of them are Ancient Chinese Currency, Ancient Chinese Jade, Ancient Chinese Bronze Art, Ancient Chinese Porcelain Art and Ancient Buddhist Sculptures. The museum also holds some temporary exhibitions to display some significant archeological discoveries, arts and cultural relics exchanged with other national and international museums.
Collections of Great Variety
Collections in China National Museum range from the ancient times to the modern times. Ancient collections include bronze vessels, pottery & porcelain wares, jade, silver & golden objects, calligraphy and paintings, coins, clothing, Buddhist statues, books, furniture, inscriptions on stone tablets, weapons, measuring vessels, music instruments and seals. Collections of modern times are relevant to the major events and important figures of modern Chinese history, such as the Wooden Gavel used to announce China's membership of the World Trade, the Seal of the People's Government of the People's Republic of China and the flag raised by Chairman Mao at the Proclamation of the People's Republic of China.
Opening Time: 09:00 - 17:00 daily & Closed on Mondays
Tickets: Individual visitors can line up for the free tickets at the Ticket Center of the West Gate with valid certificates during the opening time, such as Chinese ID Card, Passport, Officer Certificate, Soldier’s Card and Student Card. Visitor groups greater than 20 must make advance reservations by phone (phone number: 010-65116400). On the day of the visit, the group leader should obtain the individual tickets at the Ticket Center of the North Gate; entry to the museum is via the North Gate.
Please Note there is a limit of 5000 persons for group visitors, but not to individual visitors. Visitors have to pay for some special exhibitions.
Transportation:
Bus Routes: take Bus No. 1, 1 (Though), 2, 10, 20, 37, 52, 59, 82, 99, 120, 126, 728, 1 (Special), 2 (Special), and get off at Tiananmen East; take Bus No. 5, 17, 20, 22, 48, 59, 66, 69, 71, 82, 120, 126, 301, 626, 646, 690, 692, 729, and get off at Qianmen; take Bus No. 2, 5, 20, 22, 120, 126, 1 (Special), 2 (Special), and get off at Tiananmen Square East;
Subway: take Beijing Subway Way Line 1 and get off at Tiananmen East Station; take Beijing Subway Line 2 and get off at Qianmen Station.
Instructions for Luggage Storage: visitors can store their luggage at the luggage areas at the entry gate with the ticket and valid certificate. The luggage should be taken out the same day before the museum is closed. The service fee is CNY 1 each time. Take care of the receipt for the storage, since it is necessary for getting the luggage back when leaving. Please don’t store valuable items, such as gold and silver jewels!
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