The National Museum is the largest museum in the world. It was established in February 2003, and comprises the National Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution.
The Museum of History, originally founded in 1912, was renamed the Museum of the History of Beijing on October 1st, 1949, the date on which the People’s Republic of China was founded, and ten years later it was given the name of National Museum of Chinese History. The Museum of the Chinese Revolution, established in 1950, was not officially named until ten years later.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, ten large works were undertaken in Tienanmen Square by the end of 1959, including the completion of the building that was to house the two museums, which opened its doors on October 1st of that year.
In September 1969, the two institutions were merged under the name of Museum of the Chinese Revolution and History of China.
Years later, in 2007, the building was closed for significant renovation work, and reopened on March 1st, 2011, with the name of National Museum. It had been expanded to 192,000 square meters, making it the largest museum in the world. Today it also takes care of archeological, historical and artistic research and cultural and educational activities.
Ancient China and The Road of Rejuvenation are the most important permanent collections, reflecting the history of the museum. Together, they feature some 3000 artefacts.
Ancient China covers history from 1,700,000 years ago to the abdication of the Qing dynasty in 1912, and is spread over 10 rooms.
The Road of Rejuvenation features more modern, contemporary objects, and the nine rooms illustrate the history of China from the first Opium War, or Anglo-Chinese War, in 1840, to the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
No other museum offers a better opportunity to learn about and admire Chinese history.
An interesting fact: among the objects displayed in the museum is the first gold medal won by China in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, donated by the winner, pistol shooter Xu Haifeng.
