The Xiangshan Museum of Founding of New China

Address: No 1, Hongfeng Road, Haidian district, Beijing
Opening hours:
9 am-4:30 pm (last entry 4:00 pm)
Closed Mondays (open on public holidays as usual, but closed from Chinese New Year’s Eve to the third day of the lunar year during Spring Festival)
General admission: Free (book free ticket online)
Tel: (+86-10) 62720073

Since it opened in September 2019, the Xiangshan Museum of Founding of New China, situated at the foot of Xiangshan (the Fragrant Hills), has been committed to promoting the red revolution-themed culture of Beijing, and to ramping up education efforts on patriotism and revolutionary traditions.

After Beiping (today’s Beijing) was liberated on January 31, 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee based in Xibaipo, Hebei province, decided to shift its focus from rural areas to cities, eventually moving to Xiangshan on March 25 of that year. Over the next six months, Xiangshan was witness to rapid progress in the War of Liberation and the formation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). During this time, some important historic documents were drafted and signed here, including the Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. This history is what makes the place so special and is the reason why the Xiangshan Museum of Founding of New China was established.

The museum boasts some ingenious designs. For example, the 28 pillars at its south gate represent the 28-year endeavor from 1921, when the CPC was founded, to 1949, the birth of the PRC. The design at the eastern side of the second floor borrows from the traditional Chinese construction technique of “Four Beams and Eight Pillars” (the basic framework composition to hold up a traditional Chinese structure), making the point that the CPC built the New China and its solid political framework together with non-Communist parties.

The museum has a permanent exhibition – “Laying the Foundation for New China—The CPC Central Committee at Xiangshan” – in its main hall, which is the only large-scale exhibit in the country that comprehensively displays the history of the CPC Central Committee during its time at Xiangshan. Laid out in the five exhibition areas are displays on the themes of “Going to Beiping to ‘take the test’”, “Arriving at Xiangshan”, “Commanding the War to Liberate the Whole of China”, “Setting the Stage for the Founding of New China”, and “Staying True to Our Original Purpose, Firmly Keeping in Mind Our Mission and Forging Ahead”.

Around 800 pictures and 1,200 artifacts are displayed in the main exhibits, showcasing the struggle to establish the New China. Highlights include vehicles used by the CPC Central Committee when it moved to Xiangshan and guns used to give salutes at the founding ceremony of the PRC.