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History Museums in Beijing

THE 10 BEST Beijing History Museums

History Museums in Beijing

Types of Attractions
Museums
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Travellers' Choice Awards winners (including the "Best of the Best" title) are among the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor, according to the reviews and opinions of travellers across the globe.
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33 results sorted by traveller favourites
  • Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, number of page views, and user location.


Showing results 1-30 of 33

What travellers are saying

  • Curious26997097407
    8 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very nice place to visit. Very historical. Be prepare to walk a lot cos the palace is very big. November is a great time to go. Cooling.
    Do have meal before entering cos nothing to eat inside the palace.
    Will visit again cos it"s a nice place to visit. Will never get bored with it.
    Written 9 December 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Sean
    Penang Island, Malaysia189 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A nostalgic holy temple. Beautiful architecture with explanation about each hall in Mandarin and English. There were temples after temples inside. Really worth a trip there to understand the Buddhist practices of the Royal families of ancient times .
    Written 3 December 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Sunshine41897
    Tampere, Finland7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    As we read the reviews before our trip, it said that no cards accepted, BUT now the cards were accepted. This was a good thing because our trip was coming to an end.
    The atmosphere is cool, liked the paintings and all. Service was good and the most important thing of all was that the lamb chops we ate were the best ever!
    Written 14 February 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • TAMAN1951
    Liberty Lake, WA8,933 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Quite nice to break from normal China tourist stuff.

    Loved the history.

    So sad the the head was stolen after the war and occupation by Japan.

    The story is magnificent and exhibits are well done.

    Easy to get around.
    Written 18 October 2018
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • 67616335
    3 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Relatively small, yet comprehensive museum on traditional Chinese architecture in a peaceful environment. Some of the signs were only partially translated to English but they do have quite a few models and photos on display (including a big 1:1000 scale model of Beijing in 1949).

    I think that ~1 hour here should be enough time for most people. Admission was 15 rmb (8 rmb for students).
    Written 1 August 2017
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • bonanza1973
    San Carlos, CA591 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    It's a 350 m walk (5 min) from exit B of the Fuchengmen metro station on line 2. Free admittance. The Lu Xun museum was bare. I was expecting many artifacts and details from Lu Xun's life. Probably it is in transition. Currently there is an oddly placed exhibit on Liaonan shadow puppet theater. You can only enter the courtyard and backyard of the residence. The windows are clean to allow a view into the buildings. It's a quick visit that you can pair with visiting Miaoying Temple (White Stupa Temple)
    Written 29 January 2016
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • AnotherSwede
    Sweden175 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    This (private) museum is quite hard to find, but if you are interested in old, mainly neolithic, pottery, it is really worth the trip to the south-western parts of Beijing. There are some rather good explanations in english, and exhibits are well displayed. There are also a lot of pottery seals and architectural pottery, such as roof-ends.
    Written 23 April 2012
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • davide l
    9 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Do you want a break from imperial age and a jump of in modernity at its best? Located very close to the National Museum of Art (Metro stop with the same name), I would recommend this new museum located in the 1916 built italianate red brick building of the Humanities of the University of Beijing. The building is remarkable with the first two floors which were once a dormitorium and the upper floors with classrooms and professors' rooms. On the ground floor the newspaper room of the university library where Chairman Mao worked as clerk.
    The museum focus on the Beijing experience of the student and youth movement which gave a push to the flourishing of the Communist movement and party in China. It houses the early documents of Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao as well as so many others intellectuals and leaders of the reform movement from its onset.
    If you do not speak Chinese do not get put off by the lack of English infos on the outside, the largest part of the collection has captions in English. I found very welcoming staff with excellent English.
    Written 7 October 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • BobTravelSFO
    San Francisco, California85 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Little visited, the museum has a quality collection with changing exhibits. When I was there, some Chinese porcelain and water colors were on display as well as some European etchings and Chinese modern art. Tell the guard at the university gate that you want to see the museum.
    Written 30 October 2017
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • 25_zhang
    6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Last month,I went to the National Museum of Classic books with my mother.I broadened my horizon at that place and I primise it won’t be the last time.
    At first,we went to the exhibition of the Yongle Canon.I felt like I came back to China in the 15th Century,We can know many culture and history.That was really amazing.
    And then we went to the next exhibition.That was useful and meaning.There were a lot of beautiful poems and classic literature.I thought Chinese culture is worth studying and researching.
    Finally,we learned a great number of the customs of the Spring Festival!It was great fun!
    In the end,I really recommend this place to anyone.
    Written 8 March 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • YorkHiker
    Yorkshire, UK1,394 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    This museum is hard to find! It was located on different places on different maps and even the street address confused the taxi drivers. Take a screen shot of the building exterior and keep to the canal.

    This museum has friendly staff that are excited to see foreigners. There is an excellent guide in English. The museum has lots of good artefacts and stone statues. The water gate remains are deep below street level.
    Written 26 October 2015
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Andrew M
    7,589 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    My son and I stayed in an airport hotel in Beijing, and planned this visit as we had an early afternoon flight and wanted to avoid the traffic in the center of the city. The tunnel museum is a little over 30 km from the airport, in a north easterly direction. We took bus 3, from Terminal 2, which has a terminus outside of exit # 1 at the Peking Airport. The bus runs every half hour and costs 3 yuan. We exited the bus at the International Exhibition Center, which was approximately 10 minutes from the Airport. You will see the tall Crowne Plaza Hotel on your left before the bus makes this right turn onto G111 road, and the next bus stop is where you disembark. The subway station is located opposite the bus stop.

    Wait for a few minutes at thsi bus stop, and take Bus 31, which runs every half hour to the tunnel site. This trip will take 35-40 minutes, and the terminus of Bus 31, is just past the tunnel museum.The cost of the trip is 6 yuan. When the bus stops, the museum is a 5 minute walk back in the direction from which the bus came. I would advise that you walk through the parking lot, which has great reliefs on the walls depicting the struggle against the Japanese troops. Many local vendors selling fruit, nuts and souvenirs are in this area .

    Entrance is free, but passports are required to be shown, so that you can receive two tickets. The museum is comprised of two sections; museum exhibits and the tunnels. The white ticket will be taken from you at the museum, and the red tickets grants access to the tunnels which are to the rear of the museum, after crossing the street. In front of the museum, there is a sculpture of local fighters exiting a tunnel, and there are white marble reliefs on the exterior walls. The displays in the museum mainly relate to the items of daily life, how the tunnels were constructed and used, and home made weapons used by the fighters.There were a few photos of atrocities carried out by the Japanese on local people, and some famous WW2 photos e.g, surrender of Japan, raising the Soviet flag on the Reich Chancellery in Berlin

    More souvenir vendors are found at the exit of the museum. A short walk over a bridge leads to the entrance to the tunnels, which is just to the left of a fighter jet monument. The tour of the tunnels can be self guided, as most of the signs had english translations, and the "side" tunnels had been blocked with barriers. It is cool in the tunnels, and at some places the ceiling was very low. There were no warning signs to indicate that the roof was low in places, so proceed with caution. All tunnels are damp, so there are a few slippery areas.There are numerous small cavities in the walls where fighters could hide, and the tunnels had drainage areas and wells for drinking water. Meeting rooms were also done, where 10 persons could gather, and the side passages led to pigstys, hollowed tree trunks and a donkey stable where the tunnel complex ends.

    Although you have been walking in the tunnels for at least 15 minutes, the end of the tunnels is actually just behind where you originally entered. If you have 6 hours available in Beijing and want to avoid the busy city, this will be an enjoyable experience, particularly if you have young children who will have lots of fun in the tunnels.The wait for the buses may be slightly long, so ensure that you have sufficient time available.There are a few nature attractions nearby the museum, in the mountains surrounding the village.
    Written 19 August 2018
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • 無名
    World9,898 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice looking bridge with a deep history to it. You're going to need to look that up yourself as there is really no English explanations. Lots of statutes and some old artifacts. It makes a nice walk after seeing the museum.
    Written 7 August 2015
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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