Chinese Traditional Culture Museum

Chinese Traditional Culture Museum
中国工艺美术馆 中国非物质文化遗产馆

Address: 16 East Hujing Street, Chaoyang district, Beijing
Opening hours: 9am-5pm (last entry 4pm)
Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
Postal code: 100101
General admission: Free
Tel: 010-87991800; 010-87991866
*Reservation on the museum's official WeChat account or website is needed

The China National Arts and Crafts Museum and China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum (also known as the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum) is a non-profit public institution under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The museum is dedicated to the collection and display of exceptional Chinese arts and crafts, highlighting major projects representing intangible cultural heritage.

On Feb 5, 2022, the museum officially opened to the public. Located on the northern extension of Beijing's Central Axis, the museum has a total floor area of 91,126 square meters, with a length of 201 meters from north to south, a width of 75 meters, and a height of 50 meters. It consists of six floors above ground and two underground, including seven exhibition halls and a multifunctional hall.

The museum building's architectural design draws inspiration from the scale and proportions of the Palace Museum’s Hall of Supreme Harmony, featuring a symmetrical structure both vertically and horizontally. The façade is tripartite, divided into a stone base, a transparent platform layer in the middle, and an elevated treasure pavilion at the top, symbolizing the harmony between heaven, earth, and humanity in traditional Chinese culture. The brown copper-colored metal lattice structure of the exterior is inspired by patterns from traditional Chinese window designs and antique shelves, seamlessly blending traditional decorative elements with modern architectural frameworks, imparting an overall serene yet vibrant aesthetic.

The museum's current collection encompasses 11 categories of arts and crafts, including jade carvings, stone carvings, bamboo and wood carvings, ivory and bone carvings, textile dyeing and embroidery, ceramics, lacquerware, metalwork, glass, thangka, and various ethnic and folk arts, with a focus primarily on works created since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, with 1,895 sets being exceptionally fine examples of arts and crafts.

Among these are four large jade artworks: "Magnificent Scenery of Mount Tai (Daiyue Qiguan)", "Condensing Fragrance and Auspiciousness (Hanxiang Jurui)", "Myriad Flowers in Full Bloom (Qunfang Lansheng)", and "Joyful Celebration across the Nation (Sihai Tenghuan)". These pieces are notable for their impressive size, excellent materials, ingenious design, and superb craftsmanship, making them national treasures of extraordinary rarity.