Beijing National Costume Museum is a comprehensive cultural research institute with collection, exhibition, scientific research and education combined perfectly as one. It boasts of being the best of its kind in China, where over 10,000 pieces of costume and accessories are well-retained, and more than 1,000 precious photos of the Yi, the Tibetan and the Qiang ethnic minorities are available in the museum.

With an exhibition area of 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet), Beijing National Costume Museum is composed of seven exhibition halls, Ethnic Minority Costume Hall, Han Ethnic Costume Hall, Miao Ethnic Costume Hall, Metalworking and Jewelry Hall, Brocade & Embroidery & Batik Hall, Olympic Costume Hall and Old Photo Hall.

Ethnic Minority Costume HallThe costume of the 56 ethnic minorities such as the Manchurians, the Tibetans, the Mongolians and the Uighurs are exhibited in the Ethnic Minority Costume Hall, which are decorated with various kinds of accessories, including, golds, silvers, corals, jades and rammels.

Brocade & Embroidery & Batik HallIt has been a tradition for people from north Chinese to spin woolen fabrics and the people from south China to spin cotton fabrics since ancient times, and brocades, embroideries and batiks are widely used by the Chinese people to decorate their textile products, resulting in colorful kinds of costume. For those ancient ethnic minorities who had no writing records, the costume patterns fully depict their historical legends and folk customs, which has a high aesthetic value and a practical value.

Miao Ethnic Costume HallOf all the ethnic minorities in south China, the Miao ethnic minority has the most colorful costume, which are decorated with various kinds of patterns such as butterflies, flying horses, the sun, the moon and stars. The Miao ethnic costume is highlighted by batiks, embroideries and silver ornaments.

Olympic Costume HallThe 2008 Beijing Olympic Games commanded the attention of the world, during which the Chinese culture was fully reflected by costume the Chinese people wore. Various kinds of costume designed for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are exhibited in the Olympic Costume Hall, which reminds visitors how splendid the Beijing Olympic Games was.

Han Ethnic Costume HallThe Han Ethnic Costume Hall dedicates itself to displaying various kinds of Han-ethnic costume emerging from the modern times, which gives visitors an overall introduction of the Han-ethnic costume with the help of text descriptions, diagrams and photos. The Han ethnic costume is very unique in texture, color, design and pattern, which reflects the elegant taste of the Han ethnic people toward costume.

Address: Beijing Costume Academy, north of Pinghe Street, Chaoyang District, BeijingGetting there: Take Bus No. 515, 547, 119, 119 or 125 to the museum.Ticket Price: FreeOpening hours: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday; 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday

Source: chinatravel.com