National Museum of China facts for kids
| 中国国家博物馆 | |
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| Established | 2003 |
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| Location | Beijing |
| Type | Art museum, history museum |
| Collections | Chinese art |
| Collection size | 1.3 million |
| Visitors | 2,377,600 (2021) |
| Owner | Ministry of Culture and Tourism |
| Public transit access | 1 Tian'anmen East |
The National Museum of China is a huge museum in Beijing, China. It is found on the east side of Tiananmen Square. This museum is special because it shows both art and history. It has a massive building, making it one of the largest museums in the world.
Inside, you can explore 48 different exhibition halls. The museum holds over 1.4 million amazing items. These items tell the story of China's rich past. It is a public museum, supported by the government.
History of the Museum
The museum you see today was created in 2003. It was formed by joining two older museums. These two museums had been in the same building since 1959. One was the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. It started in 1950 to remember the 1949 revolution. The other was the National Museum of Chinese History. It began in 1912 to protect China's long history.
The museum building itself was finished in 1959. It was one of the Ten Great Buildings built to celebrate China's ten-year anniversary. It stands opposite the Great Hall of the People, which was built at the same time. The museum building is very large. It covers about 6.5 hectares (about 16 acres). It is 313 meters (1,027 feet) long and 40 meters (131 feet) tall. The front of the building has ten large square pillars.
The museum closed for a big update in 2007. After four years of work, it reopened on March 17, 2011. The renovation added 28 new exhibition halls. This made the display area more than three times bigger. It also got new, modern storage and display systems. The total floor space is now almost 200,000 square meters (2.2 million square feet). A German company called Gerkan, Marg and Partners designed the changes.
One important exhibit is called "The Road to Rejuvenation." In 2012, China's leader, Xi Jinping, visited this exhibit. He talked about the "Chinese Dream" there. The first part of the exhibit showed China's difficult past. The second part showed how China overcame these challenges. It also showed the Chinese Communist Revolution. After his visit, Xi Jinping said that making China strong again was the greatest dream.
In 2020, the museum was closed for a long time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant fewer people could visit. But in 2021, it was still the second most-visited art museum in the world. Only the Louvre Museum in France had more visitors.
Amazing Collections
The museum's collection covers a huge amount of Chinese history. It starts from the time of the Yuanmou Man, about 1.7 million years ago. It goes all the way to the end of the Qing dynasty. This was the last imperial dynasty in China. The museum has 1,050,000 items in its permanent collection. Many of these are very special and rare. You might not find them in any other museum.
Some of the most important items include:
- The "Houmuwu Ding" from the Shang dynasty. This is the heaviest piece of ancient bronze in the world. It weighs over 832 kilograms (1,836 pounds)!
- A square-shaped Shang dynasty bronze zun. It is a type of wine vessel decorated with four sheep heads.
- A large bronze water pan from the Western Zhou dynasty. It has important writings carved into it.
- A gold-inlaid bronze tally from the Qin dynasty. It is shaped like a tiger.
- Han dynasty jade burial suits. These suits are made of jade pieces sewn together with gold thread.
- A large collection of colorful Tang dynasty sancai pottery.
- Many beautiful ceramics from the Song dynasty.
The museum also has a big collection of old coins. This includes 15,000 coins given by Luo Bozhao.
The museum has a permanent exhibit called The Road to Rejuvenation. This exhibit shows China's recent history. It starts from the First Opium War. It focuses on the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It also highlights their achievements.
One interesting item in the exhibit about Deng Xiaoping is a Stetson hat. He received this hat during a rodeo when he visited the United States in 1979. Pictures of him wearing the hat became very famous.
On April 9, 2021, a new photo exhibition opened. It was called "Field of Hope." This exhibition showed how China worked to help people out of poverty. It featured 180 photos from nearly 150 photographers.
Gallery
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A Han dynasty jade burial suit laced with gold thread at the National Museum of China
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A pastel pierced porcelain vase, from the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty
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Copperplate for printing the Great Ming one string banknote
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Stone carving from the Eastern Han dynasty, with depiction of a waterside pavilion overlooking a lake full of fish, turtles, and waterfowl
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Bronze two-part pass (paizi) with a four character Tangut inscription inlaid in silver, from the Western Xia
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A bronze vessel in the shape of a owl, from the tomb of Lady Fu Hao, from Shang dynasty, 13th century BC
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Pottery roof tile ends from the Western Han dynasty
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Painted stone relief depicting a warrior from the Later Liang dynasty
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A Western Han dynasty jade pillow from the tomb of the Prince of Chu in Shizishan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province
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Red lacquer box from the Qing dynasty
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Painted pottery of neolithic Yangshao culture, with depiction of a stork catching a fish and a stone axe on the side
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Bronze tallies with inscriptions inlaid in gold from the Warring States period, Chu State
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Brick relief depicting two scholars and two maids, from the Southern dynasties
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Bronze plate for printing an advertisement for the Liu family needle shop at Jinan, Song dynasty. The earliest extant example of a commercial advertisement
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Bronze cannon with inscription dated the 3rd year of the Zhiyuan Era (1332), Yuan dynasty
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Guoji Zibai pan, from Western Zhou
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Li gui, the earliest Zhou dynasty bronze vessel to be discovered, and the only epigraphic evidence of the day of the Zhou conquest of Shang
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Houmuwu Ding, the largest piece of bronze work found in the world so far. It was made in the late Shang dynasty at Anyang
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Eagle-shaped pottery of neolithic Yangshao culture
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A Song dynasty copy of the Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, dated to the 6th century, depicting ambassadors from various tributary states
Countdown Clocks
Because the museum is in the center of Tiananmen Square, its front has a special use. Since the 1990s, large countdown clocks have been placed there. These clocks count down to important national events. For example, they showed the time remaining until Hong Kong and Macau returned to China. They also counted down to the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Another event was the opening of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
See also
- List of largest art museums
- List of most visited art museums
- List of museums in China
- Palace Museum
- National Palace Museum
- State Administration of Cultural Heritage
- Ministry of Culture
