Capital Museum

This is one of the popular and very well known tourist destinations of Beijing. Originally an art museum, famous for exclusive collection of ancient porcelain, bronze, calligraphy, painting, jade, sculpture, Buddhist statues from imperial China and unique architecture – the museum is worthy enough to visit for the visitors. If you are in Beijing, considering not visiting this museum would definitely be a big miss! Plenty of artistic elements are there, exhibited nicely to allure the visitors. It is just a few minutes away from the nearest metro station and thus, reaching this place would not be a great deal of challenge for any visitor.

This is a beautiful space. With over 80K artefacts, you won't worry that you missed somenthing about the Chinese culture, archeology and history. It is a massive building, forbidding from the outside; the interiors are extraordinarily well presented. The huge hall featuring a bronze cilinder the size of 5 story building and an archway from Ming dynasty centrally placed. We had a guided tour starting from the top floor; it can be exhausting - but it's well worth it. Model villages are particularly nice. The museum shop is on the lower underground level - again, this is a place to shop for beautifully manufactured replicas, althought these are not the cheapest in Beijing. But the friendliness of staff will put you at ease and you can have a bonus of looking at their packaging skills. #beijingtrip #urbanexplorer #oldarchitecture

It's worth visiting the Capital Museum multiple times! I had been there once before, and it might have been because it was still a 'special' period, there weren't many visitors, and only the east wing of the museum was open, giving it a somewhat deserted feel. A few days ago, the TV mentioned that there is now a Dragon Year special exhibition, and wow, today it's packed! Despite being a workday, the crowds are surging! Now, not only the east wing but also the west wing has officially 'launched'. The first floor features the Beijing Central Axis exhibition, the second, third, and fourth floors cover the comprehensive history of Beijing, and upstairs there are exhibitions on Beijing's opera gardens and folk customs. There's even a Xinjiang archaeological special exhibition on the B1 floor, and to see it all would take at least half a day! Museums nowadays are no longer about the simple display of artifacts; they employ sound, light, and electricity, along with many interactive devices, making all the exhibition areas interesting. Adults and children learn and discuss as they go, and when they're tired and hot, why not buy a cultural creative popsicle? Friends with kids could easily spend a whole day here without any issues!

It's worth visiting the Capital Museum multiple times! I had been there once before, and it might have been because it was still a 'special' period, there weren't many visitors, and only the East Wing was open for exhibitions, giving it a somewhat deserted feel. A few days ago, the TV mentioned that there is now a special exhibition for the Year of the Dragon, and wow, today it's packed with people! Despite it being a workday, the crowds are surging! Now, not only the East Wing but also the West Wing has officially 'launched'. The first floor features the Beijing Central Axis exhibition, the second, third, and fourth floors cover the comprehensive history of Beijing, and there's also a Beijing Opera Garden exhibition and a Beijing Folk Customs exhibition upstairs, plus a Xinjiang Archaeological special exhibition on the B1 floor. To see everything would take at least half a day! Today's museums are no longer just about simply displaying artifacts; they now offer a full array of audiovisual and interactive devices, making all the exhibition areas interesting. Adults and children can learn and discuss as they go. If you're tired and hot, why not buy a cultural creative popsicle? For friends with kids, spending a whole day here is no problem at all!

It's worth visiting the Capital Museum multiple times! I had been there once before, and it might have been because it was still a 'special' period, there weren't many visitors, and only the East Wing was open, giving it a somewhat deserted feel. A few days ago, the TV mentioned that there is now a Dragon Year special exhibition, and wow, today it's packed! Despite people being back at work, the crowds are surging! Now, in addition to the East Wing, the West Wing has also officially 'launched'. The first floor features the Beijing Central Axis exhibition, the second, third, and fourth floors cover the comprehensive history of Beijing, and there's also a Beijing Opera Garden exhibition and a Beijing Folk Customs exhibition upstairs, plus a Xinjiang Archaeological special exhibition in the B1 level. To see all of this, you'd need at least half a day! Today's museums are no longer just about simply displaying artifacts; they now incorporate sound, light, and electricity, along with many interactive devices, making all the exhibition areas interesting. Adults and children learn and discuss as they go, and if you're tired or hot, why not buy a cultural creative popsicle? Friends with kids could easily spend a whole day here without any issues!

Following the last story, this time I want to share with you the story of the most beautiful stone Buddha in Beijing. My first encounter with it came from a series of works about the Phoenix Ridge in the west of Beijing in Mr. Wang's 'Old Scenes of the Ancient Capital'. Later, through various online information, I learned more about its story, and this time I decided to go find it and show it to everyone. The Capital Museum reopened after more than half a year of renovation and exhibition preparation. It is said that the glass cover was removed from this stone Buddha to allow visitors a closer look, so I took the opportunity of the first snow in the Jia Chen year in Beijing to visit the museum again. Heading straight to the second floor, the Beijing General History Exhibition, the stone Buddha is displayed here. Who is this stone Buddha? He is the Northern Wei Dynasty's Taihe Stone Buddha! The Buddha statue is 1.65 meters tall and stands on a Sumeru lotus base over 1 meter high. The Buddha's face is dignified and full, with a spiral bun on his head, ears hanging over his shoulders, wearing a kasaya that is draped diagonally, with long sleeves touching the ground, bare-chested and barefoot. The left hand is clasped and slightly bent down in the 'Wish-Granting Mudra', while the right hand is bent at the elbow in front of the chest in the 'Fearless Mudra'. The upper body is dressed in a monk's robe, and the lower body in silk pants with a chrysanthemum pattern, with smooth and clearly defined folds. On both sides and above the Buddha's body, there are 31 celestial musicians carved into the halo, playing drums and flutes. Behind the Buddha is a 2.2-meter-tall backlight, and behind the backlight, there are 12 rows of small Buddha statues arranged horizontally from top to bottom, with varying numbers in each row and different sizes, totaling 124 statues. The small Buddhas are generally 0.12 meters high, with the smallest one being 0.04 meters. There are two relief statues beside the Buddha, likely representing Ananda and Kashyapa, disciples of Shakyamuni. There are some grooves around the Buddha statue, which look like ancient mortise and tenon structures, suggesting that the statue might have been integrated with other buildings at the time of carving. There are also two holes on it, the purpose of which is unknown. The Buddha statue is painted with cinnabar. The overall layout of the statue is rigorous, the carving technique is simple, and the decoration is rich, making it a fine example of stone carving in the region. Below the statue, there is an inscription that reads 'On the fifteenth day of the third month of the twenty-third year of Taihe, Yan Huiduan made this statue for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager', providing us with the exact date of the statue's creation. The thirteenth year of the Northern Wei Dynasty's Taihe period corresponds to the year 499 AD, when the ambitious Emperor Xiaowen, Yuan Hong, passed away in April. The Taihe Stone Buddha is the earliest known stone Buddha statue in Beijing. Although there has always been controversy over the age of the Buddha statue, its thematic style is believed to be carved during the Northern Wei Dynasty's Taihe period. The backlight and other decorations of the Buddha statue do not match the style of the time and may have been added later. Some say that the Empress Dowager mentioned refers to the famous historical figure Empress Dowager Feng, and the Buddha's face was also modeled after her. Yan Huirui might have been the founder! During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the 'Shuntian Prefecture Gazette' recorded that in the sixth year of Guangxu (1880), Zhang Yunyi from Tongzhou discovered the statue. This news spread quickly and caught the attention of Emperor Guangxu, who ordered the Buddha statue to be transported to the Western Hills and assigned a Yao family to guard it, allocating funds to build a Stone Buddha Hall to house the statue. The earliest record of the Stone Buddha Hall comes from the Qing Dynasty's Zhi Run's 'Ji Ying Xuan Floating Life Daily Record'. In 1929, Feng Kuan wrote in 'Miaofeng Mountain Miscellaneous Records': 'There is a south-facing cave, with a valley built in front, and the Stone Buddha Hall is to the northwest of the cave. There is a mountain gate, three bays wide, all facing east... The temple is known as the Stone Buddha Hall, and it is unknown if there is a name for the monastery.' There is also the 'Beijing Travel Guide' compiled by Ma Zhixiang in 1935: 'The temple faces west to east, the mountain gate has collapsed, the Buddha hall has three layers, also in ruins, the front hall has a Wei Tuo, and the middle hall is the main hall, housing the stone Buddha.' From these records, it is known that the Stone Buddha Hall had a three-bay mountain gate, three-story halls, with Wei Tuo in the front hall and the main hall housing the stone Buddha. During the Republic of China period, the Stone Buddha Hall was on the verge of collapse. Li Shi, the chairman of the Sino-French University at the time, saw this and invited Duan Qiguang, who had studied architectural design in France, to oversee the reconstruction. The design was modeled after the Simenta Pagoda in Licheng, Shandong, with a European style. Skilled stonemasons from nearby Baihujian Village were hired to build the Stone Buddha Hall. The hall has a square floor plan, with each side measuring 5 meters, walls 3.2 meters high, and high arches 2.2 meters on each side. The base of the platform has four levels of vertical bands for steps, and the top is decorated with an octagonal pyramid spire. Standing is a square granite building with a spire slightly featuring Western characteristics, about 8 meters high, with arched windows on all four sides, constructed from thirteen layers of stone, subtly reflecting the 'thirteen heavens' pattern of a pagoda. The exterior of the Stone Buddha Hall is simple and unadorned, solid and stable. Inside the stone building, a stone Buddha statue was once preserved. In March 1998, 1499 years after the Buddha statue was carved, an outlaw stole the statue from Cheerying. During the theft, the statue was broken into five pieces, with some edges damaged, but later recovered by the police. On September 30 of the same year, the Wei Taihe statue was moved back to Beijing, and the criminals received their due punishment. Fortunately, after the restoration, the Buddha statue was housed in the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum and later in the Capital Museum, which is the one we see before us today. Despite the trials and tribulations, the stone Buddha can still be displayed almost completely intact, greeting visitors from all directions with its classic, enchanting smile. I will not praise this place further for now; listen for the continuation in the next episode.

I'm planning to take the kids to Yuyuantan Park this weekend, and just so happened to pass by the Capital Museum, so I booked a visit for Sunday morning. Here's what I found you can do on the 1st floor and B1: 1. The Central Axis Exhibition. As soon as you enter the exhibition hall and turn right, you'll see the Central Axis Exhibition, which is quite popular. Both adults and children find it very interesting. Besides the historical and cultural knowledge, I personally really liked the sand table of the central axis, which, along with the changing lights around it, was very appealing to the kids. Another feature is the simulated photography; you can stand in different spots on the floor, and the background changes accordingly. For example, if you stand on the spot marked 'Temple of Heaven', the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests appears in the background for photos, giving you the feeling of being right there. After the Central Axis Exhibition, we went straight to B1. 2. 'Paper Space Family Board Game'. Next to the restaurant, there's a 'Paper Space' where two free family activities are available. Just register your personal information (name, ID number, and phone number) and you can experience it for free. I chose the Central Axis puzzle, which was quite interesting, and the kids loved it. There are two staff members in this area; one gentleman was very enthusiastic, actively introducing the exhibition and family activities. The other lady sat there without actively introducing anything, meaning if you didn't know there were activities available, you probably wouldn't participate. However, she was very friendly towards children, though a bit stern with adults. 3. 'Capital Museum Exploration' Archaeological Dig. Beyond the Paper Space, there's a small bamboo forest that's quite nice, and past that, you'll see an area for digging in the dirt called 'Capital Museum Exploration'. This is mainly a simulation of an archaeological site, where kids can put on shoe covers and clothes to start digging. For 168 yuan, you can dig for an hour and take home one item you find. I saw some kids dig up ancient coins and others ancient weapons, all different. Teachers are available to guide you, and overall, it's especially popular with the kids. There are also some souvenirs for sale that I think are quite interesting and worth checking out. Additionally, right outside this area is an exhibition on Xinjiang archaeological surveys, which matches the theme well. 4. 'Capital Museum Postcard Stamping'. Right outside the 'Capital Museum Exploration', there's a place to buy postcards. A set of postcards costs 48 yuan, and you can get stamps at different locations in the museum, then collect a full set. Many kids enjoy this activity, and finding the stamping locations is a fun process for them, plus it's not expensive. 5. Intangible Cultural Heritage Handicrafts. Continuing on, you'll see a place selling Capital Museum Year of the Ox souvenirs. Here you can do some crafts, which cost about 150+ yuan. Since we were short on time, I just asked the staff how long it takes to make one, and they replied 'it varies from person to person', so I didn't try it. 6. Claw Machine. Next to the handicrafts area, there are a few claw machines which I thought were interesting. Apart from traditional dolls, there were some vase-shaped dolls that seemed intriguing. I'm just average at claw machines, and after spending 12 yuan without feeling like I was about to win a doll, I gave up. Overall, the Capital Museum is a very interesting place. But as a free museum, if you want to take the kids and spend nothing, you still need a bit of determination, haha.

The Capital Museum, there is a special exhibition of the Beijing Central Axis recently, displaying the unearthed cultural relics and construction process of the Beijing Central Axis. The Yan bronze ware is a permanent exhibition, the bronze ware has various shapes, some utensils have distinct grassland colors. The Buddha Pagoda exhibition is beautifully displayed. Remember to take a photo and check in at the Jingde Street Archway at the entrance~

Capital Museum!!;)