The movie Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, the third installment in the Night at the Museum film series, has been released. There are so many museums in Beijing, how many of them have you been to? I am embarrassed that I haven't been there much. Therefore, I determined to visit several representative museums to broaden my horizons. I have sorted out a list of famous museums, which are within a short distance along Subway Line 1. How convenient!

The Palace Museum

The Palace Museum is a comprehensive museum built on the basis of the Forbidden City, the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The Palace Museum is not only the management institution for protecting the Forbidden City complex and historical sites of the Ming and Qing Dynasty but also the collection, research and display institution for ancient Chinese culture and art based on the royal family's cultural relics in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The Palace Museum has a complete collection of cultural relics, covering ancient and modern times, of high quality and rich in variety. The total number of existing collections has reached more than 1.8 million pieces (sets), with the cultural relics in the palace during the Ming and Qing Dynasty, ancient buildings and books as the main collections. The collection is divided into 25 categories, of which more than 8,000 pieces (sets) of first-class collections, known as the repository of art.

The Palace Museum, during nearly a hundred years, not only carefully kept the royal palaces and the ancient treasures of the Ming and Qing dynasties but also greatly enriched the collection of cultural relics, generating series of ancient paintings and calligraphies, ancient artifacts, palace artifacts, books and archives and other areas, totaling more than 1.86 million pieces of valuable collections, through the state distribution, social recruitment and private donations. It is not only the pride of the Chinese nation but also the precious cultural heritage of all mankind. Today, the solemn palaces that cover an area of 1.12 million square meters are both the collection of imperial treasures in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the vivid archives for the history of that period...

The Forbidden City can be divided into two major parts: the front court and the back resting palace. The front court, or outer court, occupies a wide area in the southern part of the Forbidden City. Here the palace is magnificent and solemn, the courtyard is grand and broad, with the Meridian Gate,the Gate of Supreme Harmony, and the three halls, respectively the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony as the central axis, the Belvedere of Embodying Benevolence, the Pavilion of Spreading Righteousness as two wings, and the Hall of Literary Brilliance and the Hall of Martial Valor east as two wings in east and west, constituting a solemn occasion for the emperor to hold a major ceremonial and the ministers to appear at the emperor.

The back resting palace, also known as the inner court, was the living quarters for the imperial family in the northern part of the palace. Centered around the main palaces of the emperor and empress, respectively the Palace of Heavenly Purity and Palace of Earthly Tranquility, it was flanked by the emperor's auxiliary halls to the east and west, and the Eastern and Western Six Palaces where the empresses and concubines resided; the Princes on the other hand lived in the Five Residences of Eastern and Western Heaven. Further east lies the Palace of Tranquil Longevity area, built by Emperor Qianlong. To the west, the outer section is dedicated to the elderly empresses and dowagers, with areas like the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, the Palace of Longevity and Health, and the Palace of Longevity and Peace. The back resting palace features layers upon layers of courtyards and deep within the palace walls, the architectural layout is rigorous yet ingenious, and the decorative style is opulent yet elegant. Beyond the ceremonial and residential functions of the inner court, there are also studies, Buddhist chapels, and gardens, preserving many traces of ancient imperial life.

The Palace Museum recently had exhibitions, such as "Ceramics of the Ming Imperial Kilns: Comparing Ceramics Unearthed at the Ruins of the Imperial Kilns of Jingdezhen and Ceramics of the Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli Reigns in the Palace Museum Collection" in the Palace of Great Benevolence, before June 15, this year; "Yu Zhuoyun's Centennial Exhibition: Stories in 60 Years" is in the exhibition in the East Prosperity Gate until 31 May 2020; "Celebrating the Spring Festival in the Forbidden City" in the galleries atop the Meridian Gate will end up on 7 April, so hurry up if you want to see it.

Subway: Take Line 1 to the Tian'anmen East Station or Tian'anmen West Station.

Tel：010-85007938

Address: 4 JingshanQianjie (St), Dongcheng, Beijing

National Museum of China

The National Museum of China is a shrine and ancestral temple of Chinese culture, and the highest historical, cultural and artistic hall of the country that concentrates on the excellent traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture. The collection of more than 1.4 million items here fully demonstrates and witnesses the continuity of the lineage and splendor of 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

The collection of the National Museum of China is rich, diversified and wonderful, with nearly 6,000 national-level cultural relics of high historical, scientific and artistic value. From the exquisite jade dragon from the Hongshan culture, which is considered the original representation of the image of a dragon in China, the majestic Houmuwu Square Cauldron of the late Shang Dynasty, "Li" Bronze Gui in King Wu's Reign in the Western Zhou Dynasty, to the witty tomb figurine of a storyteller in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Tri-color Glazed Camel Carrying Musicians representing the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and the splendid porcelain, paintings and calligraphy as well as some ancient books of the Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. The outstanding traditional culture of China continues to be handed down from generation to generation in the National Museum of China.

The National Museum of China is the largest in the world, with a floor space of nearly 200,000 square meters. Covering a land area of 70,000 square meters, the new building stands 42.5 meters high, consisting of five stories above the ground and two stories underground. The building consists of two axes and two districts. The two axes are: the east-west axis from the west gate to the east gate and the north-south axis from the south to the north. The two areas are: the north and south exhibition areas separated by the central hall in the central axis. The west gate faces Tian'anmen Square, opposite the Great Hall of the People; the north gate faces Chang'an Street. The art gallery is 260 meters long and 28 meters high from north to south; it is topped by 368 algal wells in traditional Chinese architectural style, which have unique decorative, lighting, illumination and ventilation functions. There are nearly 20,000 square meters of rooftop green spaces on top of the building, showing the concept of environmental protection and energy saving.

The number of exhibition halls available is 48, with the largest being 2,000 square meters and the smallest nearly 800 square meters. There is also a nearly 800-seat theatre, a nearly 300-seat academic lecture hall (cum digital cinema), a 600-square-metre studio, and a 2,800-square-metre library. There is also a large recreational public space open to the public and a 600-space underground car park.

Subway: Take Line 1 to Tian'anmen East Station, Exit C (Southeast) and D (Southwest).

Tel: 010-65116400

Address: 16 East Chang'anjie (Ave), Dongcheng, Beijing

Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution

The Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution is China's first comprehensive military-themed museum. The exhibition building was completed in July 1959 and opened to the public on August 1, 1960. It is one of the ten major buildings marking the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The exhibition building of the Military Museum has a construction area of 159,000 square meters and a display area of nearly 60,000 square meters. The main building is 94.7 meters high, with four floors on both the southern and northern sides. Atop the building is a huge emblem of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) with a diameter of six meters. The museum has 43 display halls (areas).

The cultural relics in the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution mainly reflect the military history of the People's Liberation Army, ancient and modern Chinese military history and world military history. The collection features artifacts such as weapons, uniforms, seals and military works of art. There are more than 180,000 sets of cultural relics, with 1,793 sets of first-class sets. The collection of cultural relics includes aircraft, cannons, ships, missiles, firearms, ammunition, cold weapons, MEDALS, badges, seals, coins, pottery, porcelain, utensils, clothing, flags, documents, notes, etc.

Subway: Take Line 1 or Line 9 to Military Museum Station, Exit B (Northeast)

Tel: 010-66866244

Address: 9 FuxingLu (Rd), Haidian, Beijing

Capital Museum

The Capital Museum, located in the Confucius Temple, was prepared in 1953 and formally opened in 1981 with its original site at the Beijing Temple of Confucius, a national key cultural relics protection unit, and is now located at 16 Fuxingmenwai Street in Xicheng District. With its grand architecture, rich exhibitions, advanced technology and perfect functions, the Capital Museum has become a large-scale museum in line with Beijing's status as a famous historical and cultural city, cultural centre and international Subwaypolitan and has been ranked among the first-class domestic and advanced international museums.

The architectural design concept of the Capital Museum is people-oriented, heritage-based and for the community, emphasizing the past and the future, history and modernity, and art and nature in harmony. The building itself is an architectural work of art integrating classical and modern beauty, with strong national characteristics and a distinctive sense of modernity. The huge roof inherits the far-reaching eaves of traditional Chinese architecture; the long stone curtain wall symbolizes the ancient city wall of China; the slope of the plaza inherits the ancient high platform architectural style; the danbi of the Qing Dynasty is inlaid on the ground outside the north door of the hall, and there is a Ming Dynasty memorial archway inside the hall, which embodies the characteristics of the central axis of the traditional Chinese architectural; the oval bronze pavilion slanting out of the wall signifies that the ancient cultural relics are breaking out of the ground.

The application of bronze, wood and masonry shows its ancient characteristics. The stone used for the floor of the north square and the lobby is produced in Fangshan, which has been supplying stone for the construction of Beijing since ancient times; the exterior decoration of the square exhibition hall is made of elm wood, which is the most common wood in Beijing; and the exterior decoration of the oval exhibition hall is made of bronze material and decorated with the patterns of the bronze vessels of the Western Zhou period unearthed in Beijing. The steel structure roof and glass curtain wall show Beijing's powerful pace of the times, and the tall space and transparent visual effect comply with the international fashion trend of contemporary architecture.

The interior of the new museum is divided into three separate buildings, namely: the rectangular exhibition hall, the oval thematic exhibition hall, and the strip-shaped office and research building. The space between the three is the central hall and the indoor bamboo courtyard. The use of natural light, the ancient Chinese pagoda, the sunken bamboo courtyard, and the gurgling water create an environment with both humanistic and natural moods for the audience. Upon completion, the museum building was unanimously praised by people from all walks of life at home and abroad.

The exhibition display of the new museum takes the collection of the Capital Museum over the years and the unearthed relics in Beijing as the basic materials, absorbs the latest research results of the history, cultural relics, archaeology and related disciplines in Beijing, and draws on the successful experience of museums at home and abroad, so as to form a modern exhibition display with unique characteristics of Beijing. The exhibition hall is equipped with an intelligent temperature and humidity control air-conditioning system to ensure that the space for audience activities in the exhibition hall is at a comfortable temperature and humidity, while the temperature and humidity in the display cabinets are maintained at a temperature and humidity that is conducive to the protection of cultural relics; and in the cultural relics storage room, different temperatures and humidities are provided according to the different materials of the cultural relics storage area.

The museum restaurant, cafe, tea room, souvenir shops, bookstores, ATMs, post boxes, public telephones and other facilities are open to visitors.

Subway: Line 1 Muxidi Station, Exit C1 (southeast)

Tel: 010-63370491 010-63370492

Address: 16 FuxingmenWaijie (St), Xicheng, Beijing, China