These museums are niche and interesting! LOOK has collated a list of 10 free museums, come and check them out!

1. Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum

The Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum is built on the ruins of Zhenjue Temple, which is the only architectural remnant of the Zhenjue Temple of the Ming Dynasty. It is home to one of the most beautiful Vajra Pagodas in China. This traditional and Indian-style building is over six hundred years old and is covered with intricate and ancient carvings of Buddha.

Address: No. 24, Wutasi Village, Haidian District, Beijing

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-16:30 (closed on Mondays)

Free condition: Free for the first 200 people every Wednesday

2. Museum of Ancient Architecture

Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture, located in the Agricultural God Altar, is the first museum dedicated to architecture in China and was officially opened to the public in 1991. As the least popular attraction on the central axis, it is separated from the Temple of Heaven and Taoranting Park and tells the history of the development of ancient Chinese architecture.

Address: No. 21 Dongjing Road, Xicheng District, Beijing

Business hours: Tuesday to Sunday 09:00-16:00

Free condition: Free for the first 200 people every Wednesday

3. Beijing Minsheng Art Museum

This niche art museum next to 798 is located in Beijing Hengtong International Innovation Park, formerly an industrial building from the 80s, and is currently the largest public platform for contemporary art in China. The hall space with a clear height of 5 meters perfectly combines the hardcore feeling of industrial architecture with modern art. It has the most fantastic Rainbow Road, glass curtain wall, and pure white staircase in Beijing, attracting many people to visit.

Address: Inside Hengtong International Innovation Park, No. 9 Jiuxianqiao North Road, Chaoyang District

Business hours: 10:00-18:00

Free condition: Book in advance on WeChat public number

4. Dazhong Temple Ancient Bell Museum

Dazhong Temple Ancient Bell Museum, formerly known as Jue Sheng Temple, is located in Haidian. There are more than 400 pieces of ancient bells and chimes from China and abroad, each of which can bring enough visual shock. The most worthwhile "treasure of the museum" is the Yongle Bell, the largest and heaviest bell in the world, cast on Zhu Di's order, the founder of the Ming Dynasty.

Address: No. A31, West North 3rd Ring Road, Haidian District

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 09:00-17:00

Free conditions: Free admission for the first 200 people every Wednesday

5. Red House Public Book Collection

This old building built in the 1930s was originally the Red House Ball Club and was converted into the Red House Cinema in 1945 and upgraded to a book collection in 2018. The Red House Public Collection is now limited to 100 people per day for free admission. The steps of the grand staircase on the first floor leading to the second floor are designed as seats, with large warm yellow upholstery. Here classical and modern styles meet and blend.

Address: No. 24 South Xisi Street, Xicheng District

Opening hours: 10:00-12:30 & 13:30-18:00

Free conditions: Limited to 100 free visitors per day, by appointment only.

6. China National Academy of Painting Art Museum

The National Art Museum of China is a niche art museum on the third ring road in Beijing, specializing in exhibitions of traditional Chinese artworks. It opened in 1985 and has been in operation for over thirty years.

Address: No. 54, North West 3rd Ring Road, Haidian District

Opening hours: Morning session:9:00-11:30 Afternoon session:13:30-16:30

Free conditions: Free admission by advance reservation

7. Zhihua Temple

With a history of five hundred years, Zhihua Temple has been transformed through prosperity and wars. Still, the main building on the temple's central axis has been preserved to this day, which has become the most well-preserved wooden structure complex of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing. There are also cultural treasures handed down from the Ming Dynasty here, such as the only surviving transcendental collection from the Ming Dynasty in Beijing.

Address: No. 5, Lumicang Hutong, Dongcheng District

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-16:30 (closed on Monday)

Free conditions: Free for the first 200 people every Wednesday, by appointment

8. The Chinese Museum of Women and Children

This is the first museum in China with the theme of women and children. Officially opened in early 2010, the museum has a total construction area of more than 35,000 m². The overall architecture is simple, with a wave-shaped profile at the top of the building, symbolizing the femininity of women. There is a white revolving staircase running through three floors and a full floor-to-ceiling glass window with superb lighting, and it contains more than 70 years of history and culture.

Address: No. 9 Arctic Pavilion Road, Dongcheng District

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-17:00 15:30 admission closed

Free conditions: Free Admission with ID card

9. Shijia Hutong Museum

The 700-meter-long Shijia Hutong in Beijing's Dongcheng District has gathered countless celebrities. "One hutong is half of China." Many famous and high-ranking officials once lived here, and it was also the examination site for the selection of Chinese students to the United States in the late Qing Dynasty. As the first hutong museum in Beijing, it is highly restored to the original layout of Beijing homes.

Address: Shijia Hutong, No. 24, Chaonei South Small Street, Dongcheng District

Opening hours: 9:30-16:30 (closed on Mondays)

Free conditions: Free admission

10. Beijing Olympic Museum

The Beijing Olympic Museum is located on the B1 floor of the south side of the National Stadium, with a total area of about 23,000

㎡. Although it has been built for many years, people are not familiar with it. From the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games to the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games, the related content products can be found here.

Address: 1F, G/F, No.1 South National Stadium, Chaoyang District, Beijing

Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (closed on Mondays)

Free conditions: Free if reserved in advance

Translated by Liu Yu

Edited by Luo Xiongwei