On a chilly winter day, visiting museums is a great choice. These museums are easily accessible by subway. Let's make plans together!

Line 1

Capital Museum

The Capital Museum, initiated in 1953, officially opened to the public in 1981. Originally located at the Confucian Temple in Beijing, the new museum was inaugurated in 2006.

The architecture of the Capital Museum itself is a masterpiece that blends classical and modern beauty. The massive roof inherits the deep eaves of traditional Chinese architecture, the long stone curtain wall symbolizes ancient city walls, and the elliptical bronze exhibition halls projecting from the wall signify ancient artifacts emerging from the earth. The steel structure roof and glass curtain walls demonstrate Beijing's robust pace in the modern era.

The exhibition displays are based on the collections of the Capital Museum over the years and unearthed artifacts from the Beijing region, creating a modern exhibition with unique Beijing characteristics.

The permanent exhibitions include " Ancient Capital • History and Culture of Beijing" and " Folk Customs in Old Beijing." Among them, " Ancient Capital • History and Culture of Beijing " is the core of the Capital Museum's exhibition, showcasing the magnificent culture of Beijing and the historical development of the capital city, ascending continuously towards brilliance.

The high-quality exhibitions include " Selected Works of Ancient Ceramics Art" and "Selected Works of Bronze Art in Beijing Area". 

The continuously updated temporary exhibitions serve as a platform for researching and appreciating the cultural exchanges between Beijing and other regions, as well as the exchanges between Chinese culture and world cultures.

Address: 16 Fuxingmenwai Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Subway: Line 1, Muxidi Station, Exit C1 (Currently closed, please stay tuned for the opening hours)

Line 1 / Line 9

The Military Museum of The Chinese People's Revolution

The Military Museum of The Chinese People's Revolution is the first comprehensive military museum in China. The exhibition building was officially opened on August 1, 1960, and is one of the top ten architectural landmarks in the capital dedicated to celebrating the 10th anniversary of the National Day.

The main building is 94.7 meters high, with four floors on each side. At the top of the building is a massive emblem of the People's Liberation Army, with a diameter of 6 meters.

The museum has a total of 43 exhibition halls, covering an area of nearly 59,000 square meters. It currently houses a collection of 210,000 sets of artifacts, including 1,793 sets of first-class items. Additionally, the museum has a collection of over 80,000 historical photographs and more than 80,000 volumes (sets) of books, journals, and other materials.

Exhibition of the CPC-Led Revolutionary Wars is on the second floor of the main building. It is divided into three halls: the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation of China.

The exhibition of weapons used by the People's Liberation Army is divided into three areas on the B1, F1, and F2. It focuses on showcasing the weapons and equipment seized and used by the People's Liberation Army, with a special emphasis on historical weapons with significant contributions in the history of the PLA.

The Exhibition of Military Technology is located in six halls on the B1, F1, and F2. The exhibition displays the army’s heavy weaponry technology, the army’s light weaponry and the aviation arm’s equipment technology, the navy’s weaponry technology, the air force’s weaponry technology, the missile weaponry technology and the peaceful use of nuclear weapons and nuclear technologies.

Address: no.9, Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Subway: Line 1 / Line 9, Military Museum Station, Exit B

Line 4

Beijing Planetarium

Beijing Planetarium is the first large-scale planetarium in China, a national-level specialized science museum focusing on natural sciences.

Beijing Planetarium consists of two halls, namely Hall A and Hall B, featuring a total of four popular science theaters.

The Planetarium in Hall A is the largest flat-horizon astronomical hall in mainland China. Equipped with the Zeiss IX optical planetarium and the world's highest-resolution all-sky digital projection system, it not only realistically reproduces over 9,000 visible stars on Earth for an audience of 400, with an impressive 8K resolution spherical dome display but also facilitates various functions such as virtual celestial demonstrations, three-dimensional simulation of the cosmic space, and digital program playback.

Hall B was officially opened at the end of 2004 and includes three popular science theaters: the Cosmic Theater, 4D Theater, and 3D Theater. It also houses various popular science education facilities such as an astronomical exhibition hall, solar observation terrace, public observatory, and astronomical classroom.

The Cosmic Theater, with a diameter of 18 meters, features a standard hemispherical all-sky screen, capable of presenting a magnificent three-dimensional celestial dome effect for an audience of 200 simultaneously.

Address: No.138,Xizhimen Wai Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Subway: Line 4, Beijing Zoo Station, Exit D

Line 4

The Geological Museum of China

Established in 1916, The Geological Museum of China is renowned in Asia for its systematic collections, fruitful achievements, and exquisite exhibitions. It enjoys a prestigious reputation worldwide.

The Geological Museum of China houses a collection of over 550,000 geological specimens, covering various fields of earth sciences. This includes the well-known series of dinosaur fossils such as the giant shantungosaurus, famous hominid fossils like the Yuanmou Man and Upper Cave Man, as well as numerous valuable prehistoric biological fossils such as fish, birds, insects, combining both scientific and aesthetic value.

Additionally, the museum also houses the world's largest "Crystal King," giant fluorite calcite crystal cluster specimens, exquisite azurite, cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, scheelite, stibnite, and other Chinese characteristic mineral specimens. It also boasts a diverse collection of national treasures, including various gemstones and jadeite.

The Geological Museum of China hosts unique and distinctive permanent exhibitions throughout the year. The permanent exhibition halls include the Gallery of the Earth, Gallery of Minerals and Rocks, Gallery of Gemstones and Gallery of Prehistoric Life. 

Gallery of Gemstones has been the most famous. It showcases materials such as gems, jade, organic gems, precious metals, and their finished products. The exhibition also incorporates knowledge and points of interest related to gem identification, appreciation, processing, jewelry inlay, artificial enhancement of gems, manufacturing methods, and gem culture.

Address: No.15 Yangrou Hutong, Xisi, Beijing 100034, China

Subway: Line 4, Xisi Station, Exit D

Line 8

National Natural History Museum of China

The National Natural History Museum of China (NNHMC) is the only national, comprehensive natural history museum in China. On behalf of the nation, NNHMC conserves, researches, collects, interprets and exhibits natural objects as well as natural heritage of historical, scientific and artistic values. 

National Natural History Museum of China has a current building area of over 23,000 square meters and houses a collection of more than 400,000 items. It holds the largest number of rare specimens among natural history museums in China. The collection includes fossils like the fossil of Juramaia sinensis, the earliest known placental mammal; the fossil of Anchiornis huxleyi, whose full body feather color has been restored; the only fully preserved fossil of Stegodon zdanskyi, and many other precious specimens of national gifts. 

The permanent exhibitions follow the line of biological evolution, with such themes as Ancient Reptiles, Prehistoric Mammals, Invertebrates and Amazing Africa, showcasing biodiversity and its relationship with the environment, and building a panorama of the evolution of life on Earth. Temporary and touring exhibitions on different themes are also presented each year. 

Plant World has been one of the four permanent exhibitions. Plant World is now located on the second floor of the north wing in the Exhibition Building. The exhibition area is more than 850 square meters, with over 1,200 botanic fossils and existent plant specimens on display. Plant World is classified into three halls: "The Evolution of Plant", "Diversification and Adaptation of Angiosperms" and "Plants and Humans Beings".

The exhibition on ancient human beings is widely loved by the audience. The exhibition is mainly designed to address the two questions that concern the audience: "Who are we? " "Where do we come from?" To more clearly showcase these two questions, the exhibition is divided into two sections: "Know Thyself" and "the Origin of Modern Human Beings."

Address: 126 Tianqiao South Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Subway: Line 8, Tianqiao Station, Exit B

Translator: TANG Yuxin

Reviewer: BAI Jing