The Geological Museums of China
Founded in 1916, the Geological Museums of China is the national geological museum with the longest history in China. More than 200,000 collections covering all sectors of geoscience crown the reputation of the Museum. The fossil collections unveil the mystery of prehistoric life. Dinosaur fossils, including Shantungosaurus giganteus and Sinosauropteryx, present a picture of wild beasts in ancient forest. Hominid fossils of Peking Man, Yuanmou Man, Shandingdong Man and other hominid picture the life of hominid. The museums also accommodate rare ancient paleontological fossils of fishes, birds, insects and other prehistoric life which hold value to scientific investigation and are worthy of appreciation. Various typical Chinese mineral specimens, such as the largest crystal on Earth, "King of Crystal" , giant fluorite-calcite druse, exquisite azurite, cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, scheelite, and stibnite, and diverse precious stones reputed as "national treasures”, like gem and jade, shine with the beauty of nature and the luxuriant mineral wealth.
Consisting of 6 exhibition halls, involving the Earth Hall, the Mineral Hall, the Gemstone Hall, and the Prehistoric Creature Hall, the Geological Museum of China covers an area of 2500m2 in addition to temporary exhibition zones of 1500m2. The Museum has possessed more than 120,000 geological specimens, covering 13,000 prehistoric creatures, 21,000 strata, 10,000 mineral, 6,000-plus rocks, 1,000-plus gemstones, 33,000 mineral deposits, 1,000-plus geological phenomena, massive geodes and others. The achingly rare Shantungosaurus giganteus, King of Crystal, and fossils of primitive birds that were unearthed in the west of Liaoning Province stand out among the numerous exhibits.
The Earth Hall themed with dynamic describes critical endogenous and exogenous geological processes. The eastern exhibition shows endogenous geological processes, focusing on tectonic movements, folds and faults, volcanism, and earthquakes; exhibition in the west mainly introduces the influence of water and wind, which belongs to exogenous geological processes.
The raw and finished gemstones, jade, organic gemstones, precious metals and other minerals are displayed in the Gemstone Hall. Relevant knowledge is introduced as well, namely, identifications, appreciation, gem cutting and polishing, evaluation, origins, gem microcosms, distributions, mining, processing, inlay jewelry, artificial improvement of gems, artificial gems and the production, and gem culture.
The Mineral Hall, featuring wide appeal, vivid and detailed exposition, virtual and entertaining design, explains the origins of minerals, the original output, the diversity and variety of mineral rocks, the sensory features of typical mineral rocks and their uses through participation and appreciation.
Prehistroic Creature Hall
The Prehistoric Creature Hall illuminates the development of creatures, representative fossils of different geologic time scales, and the origin, evolution, extinction of species according to major events in biological evolution.
Opening Hours
9:00-16:30 (Sales are closed at 16:00; the Museum is closed on every Monday.)
Tickets:
30 yuan for adults; 15 yuan for students
Official Website:
http://gmc.org.cn/
Contact No.:
+86-010-66557858
Address:
No. 15, Yangrou Hutong, Xisi, Xicheng District, Beijing 北京西城区西四羊肉胡同15号
Transportation:
Subway: take Line 4 and get off at Xisi Station. (Exit D)
Bus: take Bus 13, 22, 38, 47, 68, 101, 102, 103, 105, 109, 124, 409, 603, 612, 619, 709, 726, 806, 808, 812, 814, 823, or 826 and get off at Xisi Station; take Bus 7 and get off at Baitasi Station; take Bus 14 or 55 and get off at Xi’anmen Station.
Paleozoological Museum of China
Nestled in Xicheng District, the Paleozoological Museum of China (PMC) is founded by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP). Taking paleontological fossils as the carrier, it is the largest specialized paleozoological museum in Asia and China's first natural science museum exclusively devoted to systematically popularizing knowledge of paleontology, paleoecology, paleoanthropology and the theory of evolution.
Treasured exhibits displayed in the museum include: Latimeria, a "living fossil" lobe-finned fish from Africa; Mamenchisaurus, Asia's largest dinosaur; Lufengosaurus huenei, the first dinosaur occurred in China; Stegodon zdanski, commonly known as "The Yellow River elephant" which has made into the elementary school's textbook in China; and the skull models of the mysterious "Peking Man". The PMC was officially open to the public in December 1995.
The Museum is divided into two sub-museums, namely, Museum of Vertebrate Paleontology and the Shu-hua Museum of Paleoanthropology and four exhibition halls, including Fossil Fish and Amphibian Hall, Fossil Reptile and Bird Hall, Fossil Mammal Hall and Fossil Hominid and Artifact Hall. More than 800 exhibit items displayed in the museum are epitome of over 200,000 specimens collected by the IVPP in recent 100 years. These exhibit items represent a wide spectrum of fossil specimens, paleolithic specimens and models, spanning from the Devonian period (over 400 million years ago) to the Prehistoric period (10,000 years ago), displaying natural heritages and relics of prehistoric animals and hominids and their evolutional processes.
The PMC is basically composed of the World of Dinosaurs, Fossil Fish Hall, Fossil Reptile Hall and Fossil Mammal Hall. It is exclusively devoted to reproducing the origins and evolutional histories of vertebrate animals, and demonstrating well-preserved vertebrate fossils deposited in marine and continental stratum in different periods and related research results achieved in the field in China, by means of fossil exhibition and others. Ranging from jawless fishes to bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes, from amphibians to reptiles, from habitat-dominating dinosaurs, mammals dominating the world to anthropoid apes evolving into early homosapiens, fossils of all kinds are exhibited in the museum and reproduce the development history of vertebrates clearly.
Opening Hours
9:00-16:30 (tickets sold until 16:00), closed on every Monday
Ticket Information
20 yuan for adults; 10 yuan for children above 1.2m, students and the aged; free ticket for the disabled and children below 1.2m; 3D film ticket: 10 yuan / person.
Official Website:
http://www.paleozoo.cn/index.html
Phone:
010-88369280 010-88369210 010-88369315
Address:
No. 142 (on the south side of the road 300m to Beijing Zoo in the west; 50m to Beijing Planetarium in the west), Xizhimenwai Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 北京西城区西直门外大街142号（北京动物园向西300米路南；北京天文馆西50米）
Traffic Information
Bus Route:
take Bus 27, 714, 716, 732, 708, 808, 814, 902, 962, 347, 360, 362, 601, 105 tramcar, 107, 111, Yuntong 104, 105, 106 to Beijing Zoo or Baishiqiao Station; or to Subway Xizhimen Station, transfer a bus westward along Xizhimenwai Street to Baishiqiao Station, and walk eastward 200m to the south of the street.
Subway Route:
Take Subway Line 4 to Beijing Zoo Station, walk straight from the Entrance D (Southwest) to the destination.
