Capital Museum — Attraction in Beijing

The Capital Museum (Chinese: 首都博物馆) in Beijing, China, is a premier art museum. Established in 1981, the museum relocated to its current facility in 2006. This expansive building houses an impressive collection of ancient porcelain, bronze, calligraphy, painting, jade, sculpture, and Buddhist statues from imperial China and other Asian cultures. Initially, the museum's collection comprised 83,000 objects. Although it attracts fewer visitors than other prominent art institutions in Beijing, such as the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, the National Museum of China, and the National Art Museum of China, it remains a leading cultural institution. Today, its collection boasts over 200,000 cultural relics. Only a small fraction is exhibited, with a significant percentage comprising artifacts unearthed in Beijing. The Capital Museum's striking architecture, led by Jean-Marie Duthilleul and Cui Kai, draws inspiration from ancient Chinese design. The stone exterior symbolizes the city walls and towers of ancient China. A danbi stone, embedded at the north entrance, features intricate carvings of dragons, phoenixes, and imperial artifacts. The reception hall showcases a decorative Ming Dynasty archway, highlighting the ancient architecture.

The museum boasts proximity to subway and public transport, with complimentary admission for all. (Take the Line 1 subway from Tiananmen West station to Muxidi station (8 mins ride).

A full day can be devoted to exploring the sophisticated art collections and artifacts on display. Regrettably, I was unable to complete my exploration of the museum few years ago due to other commitments; however, I intend to fulfill the tour at a...

It's a 300 m walk (5 min) from exit C1 of the Muxidi metro station on line 1. Continue forward before you reach the pedestrian bridge and it is the big building on your right. Free admittance with a passport. There are five floors with exhibits on Beijing's history and culture. The 5th floor is hutong culture with displays of traditional marriage, Chinese new year, and birthday (longevity); this was my favorite. All items are beautifully arranged, behind glass with a direct spotlight, with simple English names but there's no further English text about the details. In each showroom, there are attendants whom carry paddles with pictures of prohibited acts (like no flash photography, etc). They repeatedly walk the full perimeter of the room carrying their paddles at mid-waist; it is hypnotic to watch them. Each floor has a souvenir store that is related to the theme of the floor. A very modern museum with beautifully arranged exhibits. You...

My first stop for the day is the Beijing Capital Museum. This is one of the best museums you can visit here in Beijing. The place is pretty big and you will find that they is a good number of tourists that come here. There is a long queue at the entrance as everyone is required to go through security checks before entering. Lighters and Tripods and not permitted here, so you will have to dispose of any lighters that you may have, and also deposit your tripod to collect when you are done. Tickets here are free, and all you need to do is present your passport or ID at the ticket booth.

There are a total of 4 floors of items and relics that you can look at. Most of the relics that they have here are in very good condition and are displayed very nicely for you to see. They have a section on buddha relics as well which I particularly enjoyed. but generally the whole museum is worth dedicating at least an hour to...