Capital leads the way with high-profile institutions

At the 2024 Beijing Museum Month launch event on Saturday, 10 museums in the capital were named national first-class museums. With this fifth batch, Beijing has increased its number of national first-class museums from the original 18 to 28, leading all cities in the country in terms of quantity.

The 10 museums are the Overseas Chinese History of China; China National Museum of Women and Children; China Customs Museum; the Former Residence of Soong Ching Ling, Honorary President of the People's Republic of China; the Cultural Palace of Nationalities; Civil Aviation Museum; National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature; China Railway Museum; The Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture; and the Xiangshan Museum of Founding of New China.

These distinctive museums cover a range of categories with their high standards of collection, research, exhibition, education and management. They have been playing a pivotal role in the development of culture and museums nationwide and in the efforts of Beijing to build itself into a "City of Museums", according to the event organizers.

During the recent May Day holiday, more than 2 million visitors entered Beijing's museums, marking a historical high with a year-on-year increase of about 30 percent. The top five museums in terms of visitor numbers were the Palace Museum, the China Science and Technology Museum, the National Museum of China, the Yonghe Lama Temple's Tibetan Buddhist art museum and Prince Kung's Palace Museum.

During the holiday, Beijing's museums held 109 exhibitions and activities. About 20 museums provided extended opening hours. Meanwhile, the National Nature History Museum of China, Beijing Art Museum and the Miaoying Temple provided discounted cultural and creative products.

During the holiday, many museums launched themed cultural activities for family visitors. The Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum organized a series of science lectures for children, the Beijing Planetarium held activities on cosmic knowledge and orchestral music concerts, while the China Railway Museum Eastern Suburbs Museum conducted digital script activities. Those activities were welcomed by families with young children.

In recent years, Beijing has been introducing foreign exhibitions by relying on its high-quality museum resources and flourishing cultural market. Residents can enjoy global exhibitions without leaving the city. Leveraging the exhibitions, the city is building a bridge for exchanges between China and the world and promoting cultural tourism.

In July 2023, Western modern art master Henri Matisse's China solo, titled Matisse by Matisse, chose Beijing as its first stop, which became a nationwide hit. The exhibition held at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing showcased more than 280 works and collections, presenting the Frenchman's artistic career on the Chinese mainland for the first time.

Sophie Le Flamanc, deputy director of Musee Matisse, a museum dedicated to the artist, said this exhibition allowed Chinese audiences to appreciate almost all of the Matisse collections. Visiting this exhibition was like visiting the Musee Matisse in France.

In 2020, Beijing officially proposed the construction of a "City of Museums" and included it in the long-term plan for promoting the construction of the national cultural center and the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). Chen Mingjie, head of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Bureau, said in January that the Beijing City of Museums Construction and Development Plan (2024-35) will be officially released shortly.

Chen mentioned that in 2024, a batch of new museums in Beijing will be built or opened. Projects such as the renovation of the Great Wall of China Museum will complete the underground main structure, while the Yongding River Museum will be awarded a construction permit.