Museums in Beijing || 14 Fascinating Museums (for 2024)

A Guide to the Best Museums in Beijing: From the Most Famous to Hidden Gems

Want to visit the very best museums in Beijing this year?

We’ve listed everything from the most famous to some hidden gems that you probably haven’t heard of.

Museums are great way to learn more about China and Chinese culture, and as many of them are free what’s stopping you!?

To make things nice and easy we’ve sorted the museums into different categories so you can pick out which type of museum you’re interested in.

Museums in Beijing – Historical

Museums in Beijing – Art and Culture

Museums in Beijing – Science, Technology and Transport

Museums in Beijing – Chinese Society

Museums in Beijing – Beijing Architecture

⚠️Important Reminder: Most of these museums are closed on Mondays

Museums in Beijing – Historical

National Museum of China

This museum is a must-see for anyone who has an interest in Chinese history!

The National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆 zhōngguó guójiā bówùguǎn) is located on the east side of Tiananmen Square and just across from the Great Hall of People.

It is the third largest museum in the world, covering a space of 65,000 square metres!

It has over 1,050,000 collections with artefacts dating back from about 1,700,000 years ago up to the modern day.

The museum is formed of two separate museums: the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the National Museum of Chinese History.

Any history buffs out there will love this museum and could easily spend half a day exploring the exhibitions.

💴 Price: Free
🛂 ID Needed: Yes
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: East side of Tiananmen Square, Dongcheng District

Palace Museum

The Palace Museum (故宫博物院 gùgōng bówùyuàn) is housed in the Forbidden City 故宫 (gùgōng).

The Palace Museum was established in 1925 after the last emperor of China Puyi was evicted in 1924.

故宫 (gùgōng), 故 means former or old and 宫 means imperial palace, so together it is the Former Imperial Palace.

However, it is also called 紫禁城 (zǐjìnchéng), 紫 means purple, 禁 means forbidden and 城 is city.

Together this makes ‘The Purple Forbidden City’. In ancient China ‘purple’ refers to the North Star which was seen as the heavenly abode of the Celestial Emperor.

It consists of consists of a staggering 980 buildings!

According to the Beijing Evening Post, it is the most visited museum in the world.

It received so many visitors that in 2015 a daily limit of 80,000 visitors was set. Now, if you want to visit you’ll need to book a ticket in advance.

👉 Here’s a handy online guide on how to book a ticket for this museum.

💴 Price: 60 CNY April – October, 40 CNY November – March
🛂 ID Needed: Yes
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 8:30 – 17:00 April – October, 8:30 – 16:30 November – March
📍 Address: Inside the Forbidden City, Dongcheng District

Museums in Beijing – Art and Culture

National Art Museum of China

The National Art Museum of China (中国美术馆 zhōngguó měishùguǎn) is a great museum for anyone who is a fan of contemporary Chinese art.

This is the biggest art museum in China with five floors and 20 exhibition halls.

The museum was founded by Mao Zedong and was originally constructed between 1958 to 1962, it was then renovated in 2003.

Along with contemporary Chinese art, the museum also houses over a thousand foreign works, traditional Chinese paintings and other traditional Chinese art such as pottery and porcelain.

In total it houses over 100,000 works of art so this one is a must-visit for any art lovers out there!

💴 Price: Free
🛂 ID Needed: Yes
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District

If you’re a fan of art be sure to check out our guide to the 798 Art District.

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Capital Museum

Capital museum 首都博物馆 shǒudū bówùguǎn is one of the best museums in Beijing for Chinese culture.

This art museum has over 200,000 cultural relics in its collection.

To name just a few of the relics on display there is a huge range of porcelain, bronze work, calligraphy, paintings, coins, jade, seals, needlework, and Buddhist statues.

Some of the relics even date back to as early as the New Stone Age!

💴 Price: Free
🛂 ID Needed: Yes
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 16:00
📍 Address: 16 Fuxingmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District

China National Film Museum

You may have noticed a theme here with these museums, they’re all pretty big and the China National Film Museum (中国电影博物馆 zhōngguó diànyǐng bówùguǎn) is no exception!

Opened in 2008 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Chinese films, this is the biggest professional film museum in the world.

The museum is split roughly into two sections with one part depicting the one-hundred-year history of the Chinese film industry.

The other section shows the technological development of films and movie production.

Along with exhibitions, the museum contains five theatres, one of which is an IMAX theatre with over 400 seats.

Any film fans out there be sure to have a look at the 10 Best Mandarin Movies of All Time!

💴 Price: Free
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 16:00
📍 Address: 9 Nanying Lu, Chaoyang District

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Museums in Beijing – Science, Technology and Transport

Beijing Museum of Natural History

Located just west of the Temple of Heaven is the Beijing Natural History Museum (北京自然博物馆 běijīng zìrán bówùguǎn).

It is quite a bit smaller than some of its famous Western counterparts such as the New York or London Museums of Natural History.

However, with free entry, this is still worth a visit for those who have an interest in the natural world.

The main feature of the museum is its collection of specimens having more than 200,000!

LTL Recommendation – the museum has a rather interesting collection of taxidermy animals that you should definitely look out for!

💴 Price: Free
🛂 ID Needed: Yes
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: 126 Tianqiao Nandajie, Chongwen District

China Railway Museum

If you have an interest in transport or trains then the China Railway Museum (中国铁道博物馆 zhōngguó tiědào bówùguǎn) is one for you!

This museum is made up of three branches: Zhengyang Gate Museum, Eastern Suburbs Museum and Zhan Tianyou Memorial Hall.

Dedicated to collecting, preserving, studying, and displaying historical relics of China Railway they have a truly impressive collection!

They also have a CRH-3 Bullet Train Simulator Cockpit which always proves popular with visitors.

💴 Price: 20 CNY
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 16:00
📍 Address: No.1 Courtyard, Jiuxianqiao Beilu, Chaoyang District

Tap Water Museum

The Tap Water Museum (自来水博物馆 zìláishuǐ bówùguǎn) is definitely one of Beijing’s hidden gems.

This museum is a landmark for the feat of supplying safe, running water to the city’s many millions of inhabitants.

It is located on the original site of Beijing’s first water plant, built in 1908.

The exhibits inside the museum offers a history of China’s water systems, as well as an explanation of Beijing’s modern-day water treatment process.

After perusing the exhibitions you can wander out into the courtyard to take a look at water pumps and pipes from a bygone era.

💴 Price: 5 CNY
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Wednesday – Sunday 9:00 – 16:00
📍 Address: 6A Dongzhimenwai Beidajie, Dongcheng District

China Science and Technology Museum

The China Science and Technology Museum (中国科学技术馆 zhōngguó kēxué jìshù guǎn) is located just south of the beautiful Olympic Forest Park.

In the museum there are five permanent exhibition halls, a short-term exhibition hall and four theatres.

For anyone interested in China’s role in developing ancient technology be sure to check out the ‘Glory of China Hall’.

This hall is dedicated to showcasing the accomplishments of ancient China in science and technology.

You can see information here about the ‘four great inventions’: paper making, printing, gunpowder and the compass.

💴 Price: 30 CNY
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: Olympic Village, 5 Beichen Donglu, Chaoyang District

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Museums in Beijing – Chinese Society

Chinese Museum of Women and Children

The Chinese Museum of Women and Children (中国妇女儿童博物馆 zhōngguó fùnǚ értóng bówùguǎn) is another one of the more unusual museums on our list.

This museum focuses on the roles played by women and children in ancient, modern and contemporary China.

Opened in 2010, this is a relatively new museum which is immediately striking for its architecture which includes a huge oval kaleidoscope.

As well as showing women’s past and present roles in society the museum also displays an amazing collection of women’s art.

💴 Price: Free
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: 23, Jianguomenneijie, Dongcheng District

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China Ethnic Museum

In case you weren’t aware China is made up of 56 officially recognised ethnic groups.

The China Ethnic Museum (中华民族博物馆 zhōnghuá mínzú bówùguǎn), also known as the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park (中华民族园 zhōnghuá mínzú yuán), aims to share China’s diverse cultures with visitors.

Currently, they already have completed displays for over 40 ethnic groups.

These displays include life-size replicas of ethnic buildings, traditional ethnic costumes, musical instruments and various other objects used in daily life.

The museum also has a variety of daily performances which visitors can attend (apart from on Mondays when tickets are half-price).

💴 Price: 90 CNY Tuesday – Sunday, Mondays 45 CNY
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: 9:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: 1 Minzuyuanlu, Chaoyang District

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Museums in Beijing – Beijing Architecture

Shijia Hutong Museum

Shijia Hutong Museum (史家胡同博物馆 shǐjiā hútòng bówùguǎn) opened in 2014 and is the first facility established in Beijing to preserve hutong history.

The museum is inside a rebuilt traditional courtyard (四合院 sìhéyuàn) in what was actually the former home of a well-known writer couple: Chen Xiying and Ling Shuhua.

In fact they actually got married in this hutong!

Shijia Hutong Museum displays the cultural significance of the hutongs and their history along with a collection of objects from former Beijing hutong residents.

Make sure not to miss the “Sounds of the Hutong” section where you can be transported back to old Beijing by listening to the various recordings of hutong life.

💴 Price: 17 CNY
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:30 – 16:30
📍 Address: 24 Shijia Hutong, Dongcheng District

Beijing Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

Although the name Beijing Urban Planning and Exhibition Hall (北京市规划展览馆 běijīng shì guīhuà zhǎnlǎn guǎn) might not immediately grab your attention, this should be a must visit.

By far the most impressive thing in this museum is the huge scale model of the entire Beijing metropolitan area.

Anyone who is familiar with central Beijing can enjoy trying to find the location of their house or favourite restaurants or bars.

Along with the model, there are displays of old photos of hutongs and traditional Beijing homes and information about Beijing’s history and construction.

💴 Price: Free
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 9:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: 20 Qianmen Dongdajie, Chongwen District

If you’re interested in Chinese architecture be sure to check out our blog on architecture in Shanghai!

Dongsi Hutong Museum

Last, but by no means least, on our is the Dongsi Hutong Museum (东四胡同博物馆 dōng sì hútòng bówùguǎn).

Like the Shijia Hutong Museum, this museum is also fittingly inside a renovated traditional courtyard (四合院 sìhéyuàn).

This beautiful museum was designed and renovated by Chitu Public Art Center over the course of three years.

The museum features various art installations, interactive presentations and old photographs split over five exhibition areas.

The combination of modern art to display traditional Chinese hutong life makes for a truly unique experience.

As a big fan of the Hutongs and their history, this is probably my favourite museum on the list.

💴 Price: 19 CNY
🛂 ID Needed: No
🕓 Opening Times: Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 – 17:00
📍 Address: 77 Dongsishitiao Hutong, Dongcheng District

In Shanghai instead? Why not check out The Shanghai Art District M50 with our friends Nata & Tina here…

Museums in Beijing – FAQs

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