National Museum of China

Located to the east of Tiananmen Square, the National Museum of China takes you back into the artistic and cultural history of China.

The building of the museum was built in 1959, as part of the Ten Great Buildings built on the 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Back then, there were two museums within it, the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the National Museum of Chinese History. These two were converged into one, and the National Museum of China opened in 2003. It was further renovated and opened in 2011, now housing an enormous 48 exhibition halls. The sheer size of the collection is staggering, with artefacts and relics dating as far back as 1.7 million years! The museum's collection traces the history of China from the Yuanmou man to the end of the Qing Dynasty, including relics from the First Opium War of 1840. The permanent collection of the museum has more than a million displayed objects in total. All these collections are showcased in around 13 permanent exhibitions in the museum. Today, this major tourist attraction is one of the largest modern museums of the world.