Museums in Beijing
There are many excellent museums and fine arts centers in Beijing. One of them is the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum, located at Xiannongtan on Dongjing Road in Xuanwau District. The museum itself has been declared a historical site since it is located inside the Xiannong Temple compound. The museum depicts China’s development from the pre-historic era to the Qing Dynasty (1644 AD to 1911 AD). The Xiannongtan Temple was constructed in 1420, in the 18th year of Emperor Yongle’s reign, during the Ming Dynasty. Thus, it is one of the oldest surviving temples in Beijing.
Museums and fine arts centers in Beijing are popular all over China. This means that when you visit museums and art galleries, you are likely to bump into local Chinese tourists who are also eager to know their country’s heritage.
China has always been famous for its silk and its handmade silk embroidery. For millennia, the renowned “Silk Road” brought Chinese silk and embroidery to Central Asia, Western Asia, Europe and Africa. The silk trade created exchanges between China, India, Greece and Rome and acted as a link between these four ancient civilizations. Museums in Beijing will let you to see samples of clothing, toiletries and linens made of Chinese silk, often with hand weaving and richly embroidered patterns.
Museums and fine arts in Beijing are promoted by Art Scene China, which hosts numerous exhibitions presenting the works of around 25 renowned and veteran artists. The most notable exhibitions in Art Scene China are the ‘Harvest I’ and ‘Harvest II’ series. They are said to be the finest and largest modern photography show in China.
Art Scene China also takes its gallery-based artists to international art expositions such as the San Francisco International Art Expo, Art Miami, Art Chicago and Art Cologne in addition to the China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE) in Beijing. When you visit the gallery, you can have the privilege of purchasing the wonderful and exquisite creations of the city’s local artists.
To encourage and promote the works of budding young artists in China, the gallery also founded the Chinese Art Prize in 2005. Their effort was well received with over 800 applicants for the first Chinese Art Prize contest, where a special panel of judges representing renowned galleries and museums worldwide were present to judge the event. If you can catch art shows and contests in Beijing, they offer a great way of experiencing China’s modern art scene.
Beijing also has plenty of galleries that are dedicated to showcasing avant-garde art. Some of the priciest auctioned artworks to come from Beijing are in the field of avant-garde art.
If you want to see Beijing’s future artists in training, the Central Academy of Fine Arts is a fine place to visit.
Most of Beijing’s art museums and art galleries are centrally located, inside the city’s first three ring expressways. To reach these art centers as quickly as possible, take advantage of Beijing’s subway system. All art museums in Beijing either have open admission or low entrance fees. Most of them are open at least six days a week.