The National Museum of China

The National Museum of China is located in the heart of Beijing, on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square. The metro is the fastest and most convenient form of transportation to take to the museum.

The museum was created to house the collections of objects and artifacts from the Beijing National History Museum and the National Museum of Chinese Revolution. The building which now unites these two museums under one roof was opened to the public in September 1959 during the celebrations marking the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 2003, the building was named the National Museum of China.

Currently the light-colored eye-catching building in Tiananmen Square is undergoing renovation until the year 2010. The project will more than double the exhibition area in the building to a total of 150,000 square meters. During the renovation, visitors can admire the museum's collections on a smaller scale. At the end of 2006, the sections that were open to the public included the halls exhibiting the national treasures and wax figures, and the changing exhibitions on the first floor.

The entryway to the museum is located behind a row of enormous pillars. The ticket office is in a separate building located on the left side of the yard. An admission fee of thirty yuan (three euros) will let you enjoy of all three exhibitions. In the middle of the yard there is a booth where all baggage must be left for storage. The service costs one yuan.

A collection of African artwork was on display in the exhibition hall on the second floor in honor of the China-Africa Summit (Image: Radio86)In 2006, the museum's great exhibition hall housed a special collection of African art in honor of the China-Africa Summit which took place in November of that year. The exhibition was of a very high quality, although it felt quite odd to find oneself standing in front of African oil paintings and tribal masks during a visit to China.

An impressive array of glass vitrines displaying Chinese national treasures from past centuries was located on the second floor in the south wing. The collection included unique artifacts from the neolithic era up till the Qing Dynasty. The most practical way to submerse oneself in the history of the Ming vases, bronze figures and decorative and utility objects is to pay two euros at the entrance for a headset that will guide you through the exhibition in the company of an English language audio narration. The descriptions of the objects are written in English on signs placed next to the objects, so it is possible to learn about them even without paying for the audio tour. Signs in the building explicitly prohibit the use of flash photography. The museum guards take their jobs seriously and will be quick to reprimand if someone fails to obey this rule.

The collection of wax dolls included the great philosopher Confucius (Image: Radio86)The wax museum, which boasts lifelike wax statues of China's most influential personalities, is located in the east wing on the second floor. The first Chinese to fly to space, taikonaut Yang Liwei welcomes visitors in the reception hall. The collection also includes wax replicas of Confucius, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Emperor Qin Shihuang -- as well as a league of other historically significant Chinese personalities. A statue of NBA basketball star Yao Ming in his game attire can also be found in the museum, as well as a few Western celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, although the wax version of the blond starlet has undoubtedly seen better days.

Most of the wax figures on display are in any case very skillfully made. Only a few of them were hard to recognize due to the fact that all descriptions were in Chinese. An information screen providing English language explanations about the people immortalized in the wax museum can be found in the lobby, but despite several attempts to get it to disclose its secrets, it only provided information on Yang Liwei.

The renovation plan of the museum includes equipping the building with the latest in high-tech gadgetry, so there is a strong possibility that the wax figures will also be introduced in more than one language following the project's completion. Until then, broad knowledge of historical personalities and events is of great value when visiting the museum.

There is a shop in the lobby on the first floor, where one can buy small souvenirs or even a deck of cards displaying China's former emperors.

Two hours should suffice for the tour of the museum. A bunch of students can be seen flocking around the museum trying to attract people to smaller art galleries located in the yard. The enthusiastic efforts to guide people to the student exhibitions always end with attempts to get the tourists to buy some of the calligraphy pieces of the young artists. So if you have a hard time resisting sales pitches, it would be advisable to stay away from the student art exhibitions altogether.

Olympic fever is also visible at the National Museum. The facade carries a huge counter, which indicates how many days are left before the start of next year's Olympic Games.

The National Museum is a convenient place to visit due to its central location. After the expansion the museum will be an absolute must-see, as the plan is to make it into the largest museum in the world.