Beijing's story
From early times.
N509FZ — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. — CC0 · International Copper Association — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. — CC0 · Vitsuha — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Flickr user: Ivan Walsh https://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/ — CC BY 2.0 · PENG Yanan (Neo-Jay/鸟甲) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · JULIANISME — CC BY-SA 4.0
Beijing's city museum, founded in 1981 and moved in 2006 into a striking building on Fuxingmenwai Street west of the centre, under a huge overhanging roof, with a tilted oval hall breaking out through its glass front and a stone outer wall meant to recall the old city walls and towers. Its collection of more than 200,000 objects includes porcelain, bronzes, jade, calligraphy and painting, much of it found in Beijing itself, and its permanent galleries tell the city's story from its earliest settlements to the imperial capital, alongside changing exhibitions. Entry is free with a booking made a day ahead, and foreign visitors scan their passport at the gate; it is open from 9 am to 5 pm, last entry 4 pm, and closed on Mondays, per visitor guides. It is usually calmer than the National Museum on Tiananmen Square.
From early times.
Fine pieces.
A vast roof.
16 Fuxingmenwai Street, Xicheng District
Booking is free through the museum's website or travel apps a day before; foreign visitors bring the original passport to scan at the entrance, per visitor guides.