5,000 Years of Artifacts East of Tiananmen

At a Glance

The National Museum of China on Tiananmen Square is the world's largest single-building museum — 190,000 m² and 1.43 million objects. Formed in 2003 by merging the history and revolution museums; renovated 2011 by gmp Architekten. 8+ million visitors a year.

The Cultural Axis of Beijing

The 1959 socialist-era building faces the Great Hall of the People across Tiananmen.

Highlights

• Shang bronze cauldron Simuwu Ding.
• Terracotta warriors.
• Tang and Song painting gallery.
• Ming–Qing imperial porcelain.
• Modern Chinese history since the Opium Wars.

Visiting Tips

Tiananmen East metro exit C. Free with passport pre-booking. 4+ hours. Closed Mondays.