The unveiling of the Butcher Pavilion at Xiannong Altar, the opening of the former site of Qinghuayuan Railway Station to the public, 20 families exploring the Lu County Ancient City ruins in Tongzhou District, and the public accessibility of the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing... In the recently concluded 2023, with a focus on key initiatives for constructing the national cultural center, Beijing showcased its accomplishments in the cultural and historical domains. "Openness" emerged as the keyword for 2023. Specifically in the construction to build Beijing into "a City of Museums", Beijing saw the addition of 11 newly registered museums, along with the official opening of 27 "museum-like institutions" to the public.
Many cultural relics and monuments were opened to the public
In 2023, several historical sites and relics in Beijing were opened to the public, effectively promoting the protection and utilization of revolutionary cultural heritage. On March 25th, the former site of the Qinghuayuan Railway Station and the Hall of Increasing Longevity in the Summer Palace were made accessible to the public. Combined with the previously opened Xiangshan Memorial Sites of the Founding of New China, this marked the complete opening of the "Road to Beijing (Beijing section)." On March 28th, the former site of the Mongolian and Tibetan School, located in the bustling area of Beijing's XiDan neighborhood, was also opened to the public. The number of visitors reached new highs since its opening, making it another exemple of central-local cooperation in the protection and utilization of cultural relics, following the Red Building of Peking University. The "Protection and Exhibition Project of the Former Mongolian and Tibetan School Site" was even shortlisted for the final evaluation of the Fourth National Top Ten Cases of Protection and Utilization of Revolutionary Cultural Relics (2022).
In addition, Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau organized and carried out projects for the protection of revolutionary cultural relics. They successfully conducted a special survey on non-movable revolutionary cultural relics related to revolutionary slogans in Beijing. Furthermore, initiatives like the Beijing Key Revolutionary Cultural Relics Digital Protection and Enhancement Project were completed. The city also engaged in activities such as the collection, identification, and management of war-related cultural relics throughout the entire city. These measures have significantly enhanced the protection and utilization of revolutionary cultural relics.
In addition to revolutionary cultural relics, historical landmarks along the central axis of Beijing opened their doors to the public in 2023. After more than half a year of cultural relics restoration, the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum at Xiannong Altar reopened on July 18th, showcasing the renovated ancient building area in a fresh new appearance. Among them, the "Butcher Pavilion" made its public debut for the first time. On December 25th last year, the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau also released the "Guidelines for the Open and Utilization of Cultural Relics Buildings in Beijing (Trial)", aiming to promote the opening of various levels and types of cultural relics buildings to the public while ensuring their safety.
27 "museum-like institutions" were officially opened to the public.
In 2023, the construction to build Beijing into "a City of Museums" presents a new atmosphere. Data reveals that 11 museums in Beijing were newly registered in 2023. These include the Beijing Tianqiao Museum, Beijing Niulanshan Erguotou Liquor Culture Museum, Shijingshan District Stone Carving Museum, Beijing Public Transport Hall, Beijing Tianyuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum, Visually Impaired Culture Museum, China Puppet Art Theatre Museum, Cloisonné Art Museum, Beijing Liubiju Museum, Beijing Fulv Cloth Shoes Culture Museum, and the Cishan Temple Guxiang Avenue Culture Exhibition Hall.
On March 24th, Beijing's first "museum-like institution", the Beijing Chongde Hall Plaque Museum, officially opened its doors. The museum houses and exhibits a vast collection of plaques, famous calligraphers' seals and calligraphy works related to the concept of 'virtue' (德, 'de' in Chinese). It serves as an educational and practice base dedicated to promoting and inheriting outstanding traditional Chinese culture.
What are "museum-like institutions"? It is known that, in addition to registered museums, a large number of venues in Beijing can partially function as museums. Promoting the orderly opening of such venues is of significant importance for stimulating active participation from the society in the museum industry and enriching the variety of museums. In May 2021, nine government departments, including the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China and the National Cultural Heritage Administration, issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Reform and Development of Museums." This document encourages the inclusion of social institutions with partial museum functions, not yet meeting the conditions for registration, into the industry guidance scope. Beijing has gradually opened 27 "museum-like institutions" throughout the year of 2023.
For the construction to build Beijing into "a City of Museums", 2023 was an extraordinary year. On June 5th, the "National Natural History Museum of China", previously known as the Beijing Natural History Museum, was officially unveiled. This event marked a new chapter in the development of China's natural history museums. On December 27th, the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing, also known as the Capital Museum East Branch, opened its doors to the public. It is one of the completed museums in China with seismic isolation technology and the largest seismic isolation area. The museum showcases thousands of cultural relics and artworks, providing a comprehensive display of the millennium-long history of the Grand Canal. On the opening day, it welcomed 3,114 visitors. Starting from that day until January 25, 2024, the Museum has been recruiting "Public Service Volunteers", and those who provide outstanding service and accumulate a certain duration of service can become volunteer guides of the Museum through assessment.
It's worth mentioning that during the summer of 2023, the "Museum Fever" in Beijing continued to rise. Some museums experienced high demand for tickets, making them difficult to obtain. In order to meet the extensive demand for visitor access, 46 museums in Beijing canceled their Monday closures during the summer vacation period (from August 18th to August 31st) and remained open to the public every day.
Archaeological excavation sites open to the public
In 2023, the Xingong Ruins and the Jinzhongdu Guangyuanli Ruins were listed as important progress in the "Archaeology China" major project. Located in Nanyuan Street, Fengtai District, the Xingong Ruins, is the first discovery in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of a Datuotouo Culture ruins containing double-ring moats, sacrificial remains, and burial grounds. The site has yielded a significant number of precious artifacts such as pottery, stone tools, gold objects, bronze artifacts, jade items, and bone tools, filling a gap in the historical and cultural understanding of the Xia and Shang periods in Beijing. Interestingly, the Beijing Archaeological Research Institute discovered the earliest evidence of rice cultivation in Beijing at the Xingong ruins, providing insights into the diverse diet of the people at that time, including various animals such as clams, frogs, chickens, dogs, donkeys, pigs, spotted deer, cattle, sheep, and fish.
The Jinzhongdu Guangyuanli Ruins discovered the largest "official-style building complex" through archaeological excavations of Jinzhongdu in Beijing. Some portions of this building complex are preliminarily inferred to be part of a royal temple. It's worth mentioning that the "Archaeological Excavation Report of the Jinzhongdu (2019-2020) City Wall Ruins" was published in the just-concluded year 2023, which also marked the 870th anniversary of Beijing's founding as a capital. This report is the first official archaeological excavation report related to the Jinzhongdu ancient city ruins, addressing numerous questions about its history.
At the Liulihe ruins, technicians reconstructed the family tree of human bones unearthed through high-resolution ancient DNA kinship identification technology technicians. This integration of technology with archaeological evidence provides a scientific basis for understanding the burial methods, marriage strategies, and potential social organizational structures of the ancient population of the Yan State in Western Zhou Dynasty.
To enhance the exhibition and dissemination of excavated artifacts and ruins, the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau has organized multiple public visits to archaeological ruins. On September 24th, the Beijing Archaeological Research Institute, the Management Office of the Yuanmingyuan Park, and the Beijing Archaeological Association hosted the "Visit to the Past in Yuanmingyuan: Public Open Day" at the Tranquil Site of Yuanmingyuan Park. During this event, 25 citizens and students had the opportunity to visit the site and engage in face-to-face discussions with archaeological experts. On October 21st, 20 families, guided by professional archaeologists, visited the ruins of Lu County Ancient City in Tongzhou District. They experienced archaeological exploration and excavation work, gaining firsthand experience of the unique charm of archaeological activities.
