Museums & Monuments

With its historic sites as the major attractions, Beijing has a variety of museums and monuments that often get overlooked. Our favorites, listed here, are worth the time, especially if you're already in the neighborhood visiting a nearby temple or palace.

Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum. This little-known museum, located inside a Ming Dynasty temple, exhibits photos, objects, and elaborate models of ancient Chinese architecture from ancient huts and mud homes up to Ming and Qing Dynasty palaces. The sand-table model of old Beijing is fascinating. 21 Dongjing Lu, Xuanwu District. 010/6301-7620. Y15. Daily 9-4.

Capital Museum. Moved to its architecturally striking new home west of Tiananmen Square in 2005, this is hands down China's finest art museum. Artifacts are housed in the unique multi-storied bronze cylinder that dominates the building's facade, while paintings, calligraphy, and photographs of historic Beijing fill the remaining exhibition halls. The museum gets extra points for clear English descriptions and modern, informative displays. 16 Fuxingmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District. 010/6337-0491. Y20. Tues.-Sun. 9-4.

Cultural Palace of Minorities. Dedicated to the 56 official ethnic groups that make up China's modern population, this museum houses traditional clothing and artifacts from the country's remote border regions. Exhibits on topics like the "peaceful liberation of Tibet" are as interesting for the official government line as for what's left out. Entrance is free, but you'll need to show your passport to get in. 49 Fuxingmennei Dajie, next to the Minzu Hotel, Xicheng District. 010/6602-4433. Free. Daily 9-4.

Great Hall of the People. This solid edifice owes its Stalinist weight to the last years of the Sino-Soviet pact. Its gargantuan dimensions (205,712 square yards of floor space) exceed that of the Forbidden City. It was built by 14,000 laborers who worked around the clock for eight months. China's legislature meets in the aptly named Ten Thousand People Assembly Hall, beneath a panoply of 500 starlights revolving around a giant red star. Thirty-one reception rooms are distinguished by the arts and crafts of the provinces they represent. Have someone who speaks Chinese call a day ahead to confirm that it's open, as the hall often closes for political events and concerts. West side of Tiananmen Sq., Xicheng District. 010/6309-6156. Y30. Daily 8:30-3.

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. Sentries here will assure that your communion with the Great Helmsman is brief. After waiting in a long winding line, you'll be guided into a spacious lobby dominated by a marble Mao statue and then to the Hall of Reverence, where his embalmed body lies in state, wrapped in the red flag of the Communist Party of China inside a crystal coffin that is lowered each night into a subterranean freezer. In a bid to limit Mao's deification, a second-story museum was added in 1983; it's dedicated to the former Premier Zhou Enlai, former general Zhu De, and China's president before the Cultural Revolution, Liu Shaoqi (who was persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution). The hall's builders willfully ignored Tiananmen Square's geomancy: the mausoleum faces north, boldly contradicting centuries of imperial ritual. Tiananmen Sq., Dongcheng District. 010/6513-2277. Free. Tues.-Sun. 8am-11:30am.

Military Museum. Stuffed with everything from AK-47s to captured tanks to missile launchers, this is a must-see for military buffs. Five thousand years of Chinese military history are on display, and kids especially love every minute of it. Easily accessible by taking a 10-minute subway ride west from Tiananmen Square. 9 Fuxing Road, Haidian District. 010/6696-6244. Y20. Daily 8-5:30.

Museum of Antique Currency. This museum in a tiny courtyard house showcases a small but impressive selection of rare Chinese coins. Explanations are in Chinese only. Also in the courtyard are coin and curio dealers. Deshengmen Jianlou, Bei'erhuan Zhonglu, Xicheng District. 010/6201-8073. Y20. Tues.-Sun. 9-4.

The Poly Art Museum. This very impressive museum, located on the second floor of the Poly Plaza Hotel, was established in 1998 to promote traditional art and to protect Chinese art from being lost to foreign countries. The museum has focused on the overseas acquisition of ancient bronzes, sculpture, and painting. The museum is divided into two galleries, one for the display of early Chinese bronzes, and the other for Buddhist scriptures carved in stone. Also on display here are four bronze animal heads that were once located in the Old Summer Palace. Poly Plaza, 14 Dongzhimen Nan Dajie, Dongcheng District. Located next to the Dongshisitiao subway stop on Line 2. 010/6500-8117. Y50. Daily 9:30-4:30.