The Capital Museum, Beijing 2008

Of course it was logical, in Olympic Year 2008, to pair China's 5000 year history with the ancient culture of Greece
- the origin of the Olympic Games. However this pairing also raised the subtle point that although the West has always held the Hellenistic model to be the acme of ancient civilization, China both matches and predates it by millenia.

(From official sites - I couldn't do better except to say it is easy to get there by taxi or train , cheap to get in and has fascinating exhibits well worth seeing. There's also a nice cafeteria with good, cheap food and an excellent bookshop)

Beijing's Capital Museum, which changed buildings in 2006, has now emerged from obscurity to become a leading Chinese cultural institution, attracting visitors with its easy accessibility and frequently changing temporary exhibitions. The dramatic rise in public attention and attendance is symbolic of China's growth as a cultural centre, and an eagerness to serve, rather than dictate, public taste.

The decision to award this year's Olympics to Beijing was a major factor in the Capital Museum's relocation and modernization. Back in 2001 the museum was granted a prime site on the western side of Chang'an Avenue, Beijing's principal east-west thoroughfare and the headquarters of many ministries and state corporations. By May 2006, the Capital Museum, now housed in an impressive structure, formally opened to the public.

Based on a joint French-Chinese design, the new Capital Museum building integrates both ancient and modern construction elements. The highlight of the impressive exterior is the elliptical exhibition hall, which protrudes through the roof and is meant to symbolize the unearthing of buried artifacts. The entrance is framed by an expansive, hi-tech steel canopy and a glass wall that showcase the museum's attractive, contemporary architecture.

After visitors pass through the Grand Hall they can wander through seven permanent exhibitions of antiquities located in the spiral hall, or view the three themed exhibitions housed in a rectangular block on the building's western side. Beyond the public spaces, the building also houses an area for administrative use and scientific research. Collections of ancient stone, bronze, porcelain, calligraphy, paintings and sculptures contrast nicely with the museum's informative, multilingual LCD screens, high-tech multimedia hall, state-of-the-art digital theater, and displays of contemporary art from China and overseas.

Museum staff are generally very helpful and friendly, and most speak at least some English (English language brochures are also available). A personal digital assistant (PDA) guiding system is recommended, providing visitors with an invaluable, one-to-one service inside the galleries (Tina and I got one each and can confirm they are invaluable). There is also a free cloak desk and well-stocked museum shop. Depending on your stamina and cultural appetite, a visit to the museum for most people generally lasts between 2 and 4 hours.

Located on Fuxingmenwai Dajie, the western extension of Beijing's Chang'an Jie, the museum is a five-storey building allowing a maximum of 13 concurrent exhibitions. It tellss the story of ancient Beijing, which has served as a capital city for more than 850 years and the Chinese capital, more or less, since the mid-17th century. It is expected to receive as many as 2,000 visitors per day. The Capital Museum is second only to the China National Museum in terms of size.

The original museum was situated in the Confucius Temple on Guozijian Street. It was founded as early as 1981. It was not convenient due to its location within the ancient temple. Actually it functioned primarily as a warehouse of relics. It was temporarily closed when its collection was moved to the new 60,000-square-metre building, located near the Muxidi subway station exit on Line 1, which runs under Chang'an Avenue.