China’s national museum, located along Tiananmen Square (and therefore about 20 minutes by foot from (King's Joy Hostel), just reopened and I had to check it out. Apparently, it’s the largest museum in the world, not in terms of stuff, but in terms of floor space. That is a kind of an odd claim, but maybe it’s so big in the hopes of what will be put inside if for the future. For now, it is empty compared to its size, but with that said, there are some great exhibits and my understanding is more are on the way. Photography isn’t allowed, but I did manage to sneak a couple shots off.
One place I didn’t shoot, but wish I did, was with the bronze works from the Shang Dynasty. If you read the award-winning book Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler, you’ll get some good background. Basically, they are one of the earliest known ‘dynasties’ in China, really a tribe of people that performed very sophisticated rituals. The heaviest ancient bronze artifact in the world, the Si Mu Wu Ding, is one of China’s most important pieces and is proudly displayed in the museum.
Apparently, there are more international exhibits going to be put on display. I checked out the exhibit on the ancient Incas. It was cool to see artifacts from another part of the world as a juxtaposition, even contrast, to all the Chinese artifacts displayed in the museum.
Apparently, there are more international exhibits going to be put on display. I checked out the exhibit on the ancient Incas. It was cool to see artifacts from another part of the world as a juxtaposition, even contrast, to all the Chinese artifacts displayed in the museum.
I also went through the Road to Rejuvenation. The large section of the museum portrays the official Chinese government’s perspective on its more recent history (1840 to the present). The museum makes some major omissions and limits perspectives on the history, but particularly I found the revolutionary artwork, which portrays Communist China’s historical narrative, intriguing.
