Beijing is rich in art and home to some world-class art museums which you should add on your Beijing tour itinerary if you are an art aficionado. Check out our pick of the top 5 art museums in the capital. There’s something for everyone at one of Beijing’s top art museums.
1. National Art Museum of China 中国美术馆
This centrally located art museum has 17 exhibition halls with an exhibition area of 8,300 square meters. The main building is itself a traditional architecture with ancient Chinese attics and roofed with yellow glazed tiles and surrounded by corridors and pavilions.
There are over 100,000 pieces of various collections on display. It houses the works of different periods and great artworks of Chinese art masters from the end of the 19th century till today. The artworks on dispaly also include some ancient paintings and calligraphy works, foreign artistic works as well as plentiful folk art works.
The have an amazing capacity for turn-around of different exhibitions. New ones almost every week, so the chances of finding something of your interest are quite high.
Free admission
Add: 1 Wusi St, Dongcheng, Beijing, China
Tel: 010-64001476
Museum hours: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.(No Entry after 4:00 p.m.)
Opening all year round (not closed on Monday)
Official web: www.namoc.org/en/
How to get a ticket for a free visit
1) A maximum of 4000 free tickets will be issued each day at the museum.
2) Each visitor can once collect one free ticket of the day with valid ID (Passport).
3) Tickets will not be issued when all 4000 tickets have been issued out
4) Cafe: cafe is located at the east side of the first floor, offering fresh coffee, black tea, soft drinks and cakes.
5) Restaurant: Buffet at noon. Open: 11：00～14：00 Tel: (86)10-64009123
Official web: http://www.namoc.org/en/
How to get there by subway:
Subway Line 5: around 300 meters west of the exit of Dongsi Station
Subway Line 6: around 300 meters west of the exit of Dongsi Station
2. Poly Art Museum 保利艺术博物馆
Poly Museum is designed to develop and display traditional national culture and art, and to rescue and protect Chinese cultural relics lost abroad. The museum mainly consists of two parts of the exhibition: bronze and stone carvings.
Most of the exhibits have been retrieved from abroad, and a considerable part has especially high historical and artistic value as they are quintessence or the only existing versions.
The “Bronze Art Exhibition” houses over 100 pieces (groups) of excellent bronzes that present the development and charm of China ‘s ancient bronze civilization. The “Stone Carvings Exhibition” displays over 40 exquisite stone carvings from the fifth to eighth century, a peak period of China ‘s Buddhist art.
Now the Poly Art Museum is regarded in China and abroad as one of the best known art museums in the Chinese mainland.
It is a well hidden gem in Beijing. Just do not expect any large museum shop or souvenirs, this small muzeum is really about the collection itself.
Add: 9th floor New Poly Plaza, 1 Chaoyangmen Bei Dajie Dongcheng District
Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday 9: 30-16: 30；close on state holidays
Tel: 6500 8117
Admission: 20RMB
How to get there:
Bus：42, 115, 118, 701, 823 and or subway line 2 and get off at Dongsishitiao (东四十条桥)
3. Museum of CAFA 中央美术学院美术馆
Originally built in 1953, the new Art Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts (formerly CAFA Gallery) is now located in the campus of CAFA (No.8, Huajiadi Nan Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing).
The museum covers an area of 14,777 m2 with the total exhibition and display are of over 6,000 m2 . F2 is designed for permanent gallery, displaying permanent exhibits, including selected collections and works by some great artist, etc.; F3 and 4 are the thematic exhibition gallery with open space and daylight curtain, providing sufficient space for contemporary art exhibition and large art & culture show.
Opening Time: 09:30-16:30 (Tuesday-Sunday)
Admission: 15 yuan
Tel :86-10-64771575
Web: http://museum.cafa.com.cn/en/
4. Han Meilin Art Museum 韩美林艺术馆
Beijing Han Meilin Art Museum is the largest personal art museums in China and exclusively dedicated to Han, whose works range from painting, calligraphy, sculpture and installation. Han Meilin, a famous Chinese artist most recognized today for his creation of the Fuwa dolls for the 2008 Beijing olympics.
Throughout his career, he has published painting albums as Meilin’s Paintings, Art Works of Han Meilin, Mountain Flowers in Full Bloom, Still on the Earth, 100-chicken Paintings, Painting Collection of Han Meilin and Selection of Arts and Crafts Works of Han Meilin and more.Han Meilin Art Museum (Beijing, China). The art of master artist Han Meilin is wonderfully varied and reflects the range of monumental changes in China over the past 50 years.
He has also launched an art scholarship fund to help talented students who are not able to continue their studies. The first stage of the fund, 2 million yuan ($32,000), will be given to students in Tsinghua University.
Admission: Free
Address: No. 68 Jiukeshu East Road, Liyuan Town, Tongzhou District, Beijing
北京通州区梨园镇九棵树东路68号
Opening Hours: Peak Season: 9:00-17:00（Tuesday-Sunday, Closed on Mondays）
Off-season: 9:00-17:00（Tuesday-Sunday, Closed on Mondays）
Booking Hotline: 0086-010-59751888
Fax: 0086-010-59755288
How to get there
Subway: Take Batong Subway Line and get off at the station of Linheli (临河里), the walk to the west for 50 meters.地铁八通轻轨”临河里”站下车向西50米。
Web: http://www.hanmeilin.com/museum.php
5. National Museum of China 中国国家博物馆
The National Museum of China (NMC) is located at the east side of Tiananmen Square, opposite the Great Hall of the People. It was renovated and reopened in February 2003, based on the merging of two previous museums, namely the National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of Chinese Revolution.
NMC is a comprehensive and integrated national museum under the administration of the Ministry of Culture of China. It mainly focuses on a wide range of themes both on history and art. It is dedicated to its collections, exhibitions, research, archeology, public education and cultural communication.
The museum admission is free but you need to show your passport, otherwise they will not let you in.
This place is simply huge, so be prepared to walk a lot. There you will find a lot of aspects of Chinese culture.
Open: 8:30 – 16:30 (Last Entry at 15:00) for March 1 – June 30
8:00 – 18:00 (Last Entry at 17:00) for July 1 – August 31
8:30 – 16:30 (Last Entry at 15:00) for September 1 – October 31
9:00 – 16:00 (Last Entry at 15:00) for November 1 – February 29
Add: 16, East Chang’an Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing 100006, China
Tel: 0086-10-6511 6400
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://en.chnmuseum.cn/
Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Beijing guided tours:
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing Autumn Tour
Great Wall Tour
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour
Further Readings
Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing
Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites
Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping
Wangfujing Walking Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Gui Jie ( Ghost Street) Food Street
Any questions, just drop a line.
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