Beijing is not only the economic, political and educational center of China, but also its cultural and artistic center. It boasts hundreds of galleries, art centers and museums, all focusing on different categories of art masterpieces.

The following 10 locations offer the best in their respective art fields. Some of them were established and donated to by private collectors, including famous foreign collectors. Others were established by the government itself. Some of them focus on contemporary art; some stand out for their collections of ancient Chinese masterpieces; and yet others are famous for old Beijing-style works of art.

Top 10: Museum of Contemporary Art Beijing（北京当代艺术馆）

Located in Daxing Village of Songzhuang Town, Museum of Contemporary Art Beijing (MOCA) is a non-profit organization open to the public. Featuring a characteristically modern styled building, it consists of three floors. The upper floors mainly exhibit sculpture works; the middle floor are 10 meters high, and feature a new media exhibition hall, which exhibit various kinds of fabulous modern art works by new young artists.

Top 9: Yan-Huang Art Museum（炎黄艺术馆）

The Yan-Huang Art Museum, located at Yayuncun (the Asian Games Village), is Beijing's first large modern art gallery. It comprises a central lobby, exhibition halls, a multi-function hall and a painting warehouse. Its collection consists mainly of contemporary Chinese paintings, but also includes ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy and cultural relics. Besides exhibitions of Chinese paintings, the gallery often holds national exhibitions of the fine arts such as oil paintings, sculpture, woodblock prints and cultural relics.

Top 8: Ullens Center for Contemporary Art（尤伦斯当代艺术中心）

Situated in the 798 Art District, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) is Beijing's first private art institution established by foreigners. Covering an area of 5,000 square meters, it includes various kinds of fantastic facilities, including a contemporary art library, reading room, archives, lecture hall, VIP facilities, cafe and a bookstore. The center focuses on exhibiting the contemporary art of China and the world, as well as the promotion of the contemporary art in China.

Top 7: Today Art Museum（今日美术馆）

Founded in 2002, the museum focuses on boosting the development of China's contemporary art, as well as the introduction and display of the essence of contemporary art from around the world. It now has fully-functional facilities, including exhibitions, art education, contemporary art showings, the publishing of books and magazines and an art salon. The venue is becoming one of the most popular places to enjoy China's contemporary art.

Top 6: CAFA Art Museum（中央美术学院美术馆）

The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) Art Museum is a top art educational institution in China. Its art museum was established in 1953, containing more than 13,000 pieces, including differently styled classic works in different categories of China and other countries. It features outstanding works by numerous masters and contemporary artists, as well as great works by its students.

Top 5: Han Meilin Art Gallery（韩美林艺术馆）

As a privately-owned gallery, Han Meilin Art Gallery features the biggest number of works and the most abundant art categories. This is the second art gallery that focuses on the private works of Han Meilin in China. Covering an area of nearly 10,000 square meters, it has more than 2,000 works, including paintings, calligraphy sculptures and folk craft. What's more, over 3,000 works are to be alternately exhibited in here.

Top 4: China Millennium Monument（中华世纪坛）

Located on West Chang'an Street, the China Millennium Monument, which was built to usher in the new millennium -- the 21st century, is the first national non-profit cultural institution focusing on collecting, exhibiting and researching art works. In addition, there is a stage with a 14-meter-wide diameter, and a rotating structure, that can host open-air performances and can accommodate about 1,000 audiences at once.

Top 3: National Art Museum of China（中国美术馆）

The National Art Museum of China is located on Wu Si Street of Dongcheng District. It is a national level art museum focused on displaying, collecting and researching the works of Chinese artists in modern times. The art museum has collected more than 100,000 fine art works from modern times and folk artists. Its varieties include excellent works of different time features and art styles such as Chinese paintings, printings and sculptures.

Top 2: Capital Museum（首都博物馆）

With a floor area of more than 60,000 square meters, the Capital Museum is second only to the National Museum of China in terms of size. To view all the exhibitions in the new museum, it would take youat least four or five hours. There are 5,622 items on display, almost 10 times the number of exhibits displayed at the old venue. To make visits more convenient for foreign visitors, English and Japanese services are available. Other languages will be added in the future.

Top 1: National Museum of China（中国国家博物馆）

Located on the east side of the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, the museum was established in 2003 through the merger of the former National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of the Chinese Revolution. The National Museum of China, one of the biggest museums in the world, is home to over 1 million cultural relics, including bronze, jade and gold artifacts, pottery, porcelain, paintings and calligraphy -- counting them all could take several years.