Best Museums in Beijing

The Palace Museum, which is now the largest museum in China, was once the home of 24 different emperors. It is located in the center of Beijing and the Forbidden city. With 70 halls and over 8,000 rooms, it is hard to imagine being able to see all of the museum's treasures in one trip. This incredible establishment offers up a journey through China's history and is a must-see during your stay in Beijing. Check out the museum's website for an extensive virtual tour of their pieces, which range from calligraphy to furniture; doing so may help you to determine which parts of this huge museum you would most like to spend your time in during your visit.

Today Art Museum located in the Chaoyang district of Beijing, is non-profit, private museum dedicated to the developing of contemporary Chinese art. While this non-governmental museum focuses on the artwork of popular contemporary Chinese artists, it also supports the work of new and upcoming local creators as well. With an ever changing list of exhibits and showings, this gallery is worth a visit to get a glimpse into the mood and to understand through beautiful art, the current state of cultural China.

Altogether fun and educational, the Chinese Science and Technology Museum has some great hands-on exhibits dealing with electricity, gravity, and all your favorite science experiments. Within the large historical exhibit hall, you can learn about the lives of scientists and see monthly exhibits, shows, and displays. A giant circular screen shows films about evolution, modern science, and space exploration. The Science Popularization Laboratory at the museum offers exciting science activities through 3D printers, computers, and micromachine tools. A spectacular science show completes the immersive experience.

The Capital Museum is a large history museum that features artifacts, architecture and art from throughout Beijing. This museum was designed with a combination of modern and classic architecture, including a contemporary facade and an archway from the Ming Dynasty. With over 5,000 cultural relics, interactive displays and modern technological aspects of the building, it's easy to see why the museum is so popular. The exhibits are described in both Chinese and English making it accessible and informational for various visitors. Visitors need to book an advance reservation and when they arrive at the museum they can pick up their free tickets.

The National Museum of China is the result of a merger of two smaller entities. Bringing together the former National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of Chinese Revolution, this mega-plex of a museum is a must visit when in Beijing. The National Museum of China is located on the East side of Tiananmen Square, across from the Great Hall of People. Here visitors will find vast collections of both history and art spanning the ages with numerous exhibits dedicated to cultural relics, Chinese history, artwork and much more. Best of all, this enchanting museum is free with a valid form of identification.

The fascinating Paleozoological Museum of China focuses on paleontology, paleoanthropology, paleoecology, and the theory of evolution. Visitors will find an array of exhibits containing bones, fossils, and taxidermy specimens of dinosaurs, fish, reptiles, and mammals of the past. The hands-on, interactive displays are fun for children of all ages and make for educational play time. They even offer a children's program, the "Young Darwin Club," where kids can attend special workshops, go on field excursions, and learn about collecting fossils and how to cast them.

Ranked among the world's ten major military museums, the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution shows the 5,000-year history of the military in China. Exhibits are separated into five halls. The museum includes items from the Red Army's Long March in the 1930s, as well as exhibits related to the war against Japan in the 1930s. The museum also houses a large collection of weapons dating back to ancient China, such as stone axes and knives and bronze swords, up through the modern era, like guns, tanks, and bomber plans.

The impressively large Beijing Museum of Natural History includes an aquarium, an evolution hall and an animal kingdom exhibit. The museum is famous for its expansive halls of evolution that feature a variety of whimsical exhibits. Here, you will find robotic dinosaurs, stuffed animals, fossils, skeletal remains, pickled human torsos, as well as a preserved specimen of Siamese twins. If the torsos are too much, then stick to the smaller jars containing various body parts. Many exhibits have English captions.