National Art Museum Of China
National Art Museum Of China
4
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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- Dongsi • 9 min walk
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4.0
150 reviews
Excellent
58
Very good
58
Average
21
Poor
9
Terrible
4
Breeze
2,280 contributions
Nov 2019
A very good location in central Beijing.
A beautiful traditional Chinese building, if you have been to Beijing many times and no ideas where to go, it will be a good choice.
This museum is quite small and you just take some time to appreciate most arts.
It is clean than what I expect and you can take the lift to the different levels to enjoy the different exhibition.
Good to go and can learn Chinese & Taiwan art.
A beautiful traditional Chinese building, if you have been to Beijing many times and no ideas where to go, it will be a good choice.
This museum is quite small and you just take some time to appreciate most arts.
It is clean than what I expect and you can take the lift to the different levels to enjoy the different exhibition.
Good to go and can learn Chinese & Taiwan art.
Written 2 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
liucy752
Taipei, Taiwan1,639 contributions
May 2017 • Solo
Good museum with great collection. Its collection includes traditional, modern and contemporary notable Chinese artworks.
Free entrance. ID card or passport is needed for registration.
If you are an artist or an art lover, It's a great place to visit. If not, it's not worth a special visit.
Free entrance. ID card or passport is needed for registration.
If you are an artist or an art lover, It's a great place to visit. If not, it's not worth a special visit.
Written 7 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rnevarez562
Long Beach, CA173 contributions
Feb 2013 • Solo
I dont like to review attractions/museums because for me its what it makes you feel and thats very subjective. But this place caught me off gaurd and made me see China in a whole new light. This was at the end of my China and I wasnt expecting much. Yes, a lot of the descriptions are in Chinese but that did not bother me. Nor did I require the name of the artist, or year, etc. Art reflects culture and this art reflected a facet of China I had not seen in my entire trip. It was beautful, it was human, and it oozed political and cultural dimension that I did not expect from a national gallery in communist China. It's not the most beautiful museum, nor is it saturated with works you will recognize. But it gives you an oppurtunity to read between the lines of modern day China's tale.
Written 1 August 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Turtleliving
297 contributions
Oct 2019
I am surprised there isn't more talk in tourist circles about this museum. It's huge and shows a lot at a time. It looks like it always has temporary exhibits, which means what I saw today you won't see unless you're here by early November '19. But presumably and also based on others' comments here, it's always a rich showing. For about an hour I saw no one who didn't look local (to the country at least) and all-in-all only saw three other people who are likely from another country. It's a shame that more tourists don't check out this museum.
Entrance is free, but do remember to have your passport with you. You'll have to go through security screening and then you're free to roam the grounds. Don't miss the sculptures all around the building, that's worth its own little tour and perhaps that part does not rotate. The sculptures represent different styles.
In Fall 2019 (through early Nov), the exhibit is in honor of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It's split into four historical themes and the art work celebrates the achievements of the nation over this period including struggles. There is definitely quite a bit of political undertone, but it is overall a fascinating exhibition of different art styles and topics (from agricultural achievements to industrial ones, from science to the arts and family as the topics of the exhibited art).
Sadly, it doesn't look like there is a book of the exhibition so it's a good thing I took lots of photographs. The book store carries very little by way of local exhibits, even in Chinese. The English-language section is mostly about Western art, unfortunately.
Entrance is free, but do remember to have your passport with you. You'll have to go through security screening and then you're free to roam the grounds. Don't miss the sculptures all around the building, that's worth its own little tour and perhaps that part does not rotate. The sculptures represent different styles.
In Fall 2019 (through early Nov), the exhibit is in honor of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It's split into four historical themes and the art work celebrates the achievements of the nation over this period including struggles. There is definitely quite a bit of political undertone, but it is overall a fascinating exhibition of different art styles and topics (from agricultural achievements to industrial ones, from science to the arts and family as the topics of the exhibited art).
Sadly, it doesn't look like there is a book of the exhibition so it's a good thing I took lots of photographs. The book store carries very little by way of local exhibits, even in Chinese. The English-language section is mostly about Western art, unfortunately.
Written 19 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gary L
Portland, OR721 contributions
Aug 2019 • Couples
We found one exhibit Of Tibetan art which was magnificent. It's very tightly controlled. all the art is very modern It was mildly interesting but without being able to read Chinese nothing made too much sense.
Written 20 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
utfiero
Austin, TX4,142 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
I noticed several reviewers focused more on political issues than the accessibility of this art museum. Art reflects a culture. The modern Chinese culture is represented in this museum with fine reflections on various forms of Chinese art, new and old. We enjoyed it because it provided a glimpse into what the average Beijing resident considered fine art. And we loved the fact that old and young took countless photos of pieces with their cell phones, probably posting to their WeChat profiles.
Overall, we recommend this museum for a nice indoor tour after visiting the Forbidden City.
As with most museums in China, prepare for your passport to be scanned.
Overall, we recommend this museum for a nice indoor tour after visiting the Forbidden City.
As with most museums in China, prepare for your passport to be scanned.
Written 25 June 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ray H
Obidos, Portugal866 contributions
July 2018 • Friends
Should you go? Yes ... But..
It's a bit of a monomer, it's not a museum, if you expect the best in Chinese art from the last thousand years you'll be disappointed. It's an exhibition space, yesterday we saw a 21st century oil painting exhibition, Hungarian contemporary painting and glass, and a Chinese artist's exploration along the Silk Road. Much to praise, much to discuss but not an art museum.
Points:
It's free but you need your passport.
It's all in Chinese, it wasn’t designed or intended for a tourist visit.
The staff at the entrance speak some English if you are stuck.
There is no seating in all but one gallery, my idea of a good gallery has seating where you can spend some time looking, this gallery is designed for the generation who snap a cell phone picture and then put it on wechat, throughput in other words.
Copyright means nothing in this gallery, there were people with high end Nikon SLRs snapping away happily, you may, if you choose, respect the painters copyright but nobody else does.
The maps by the elevators show a cafe and bookstore in the gallery, it has been moved out to the garden to make a more open space. Leave by the front entrance, walk until you're nearly at the security point, turn left and you'll see the shop and cafe. The sandwich was good and the coffee excellent, we visited on Wednesday and, by 12.15 we got the last two sandwiches, only desserts left. However the coffee was worth the visit.
When you return it's worth heading for Nanluoguxiang metro, there’s a kilometre long garden running by the road to walk through, most pleasant.
It's a bit of a monomer, it's not a museum, if you expect the best in Chinese art from the last thousand years you'll be disappointed. It's an exhibition space, yesterday we saw a 21st century oil painting exhibition, Hungarian contemporary painting and glass, and a Chinese artist's exploration along the Silk Road. Much to praise, much to discuss but not an art museum.
Points:
It's free but you need your passport.
It's all in Chinese, it wasn’t designed or intended for a tourist visit.
The staff at the entrance speak some English if you are stuck.
There is no seating in all but one gallery, my idea of a good gallery has seating where you can spend some time looking, this gallery is designed for the generation who snap a cell phone picture and then put it on wechat, throughput in other words.
Copyright means nothing in this gallery, there were people with high end Nikon SLRs snapping away happily, you may, if you choose, respect the painters copyright but nobody else does.
The maps by the elevators show a cafe and bookstore in the gallery, it has been moved out to the garden to make a more open space. Leave by the front entrance, walk until you're nearly at the security point, turn left and you'll see the shop and cafe. The sandwich was good and the coffee excellent, we visited on Wednesday and, by 12.15 we got the last two sandwiches, only desserts left. However the coffee was worth the visit.
When you return it's worth heading for Nanluoguxiang metro, there’s a kilometre long garden running by the road to walk through, most pleasant.
Written 18 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alienandbear
Daly City, California, United States153 contributions
May 2013 • Friends
Definitely one of the better art museums in town.
Had a blast looking at the different floors of art.
However if you are touring Beijing then I wouldn't recommend you coming here, this place is more of a place you go to if you live here or work here.
Summary-
While good, not worth your time if you are on a tight travel schedule.
Bathrooms-Normal and squatters
Bring your passport
Had a blast looking at the different floors of art.
However if you are touring Beijing then I wouldn't recommend you coming here, this place is more of a place you go to if you live here or work here.
Summary-
While good, not worth your time if you are on a tight travel schedule.
Bathrooms-Normal and squatters
Bring your passport
Written 9 September 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ruby
New York City, NY63 contributions
Aug 2012 • Solo
After seeing the long lines in the hot sun to get in I almost turned away. Once inside I was rewarded with one of the best collections of chinese art, both ancient and contemporary. I can't recommend this museum highly enough, simply one of the best attractions in all of Beijing. The security was almost an attraction by itself, but enough said about that.
Written 14 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raul H
Tallinn, Estonia61 contributions
Oct 2019
it is a museum full of propaganda art - we found it funny and kind of familiar (due to our history in the soviet union many years ago). worth a visit - its free but bring your passport.
Written 1 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How much time will it take to see the museum?
Written 25 November 2018
It depends on what you are interested in - it is spread over several floors, and I am going say with 15-20 galleries thematically organized all the way from pre-historic to modern China, from visual arts to sculpture, from diplomatic national gifts to crafts. Personally, I thought I took in about 15% in a day and would need weeks to truly enjoy the treasures in there! If you did a floor a day, you could do it in one week or so. Enjoy!
Written 2 September 2019
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