Cultural Palace of Ethnic Communities

民族文化宫
Cultural Palace of Ethnic Communities

Address: No 49 Fuxingmen Inner Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing
Opening hours: 9 am-4:40 pm (last entry 4 pm)
Closed Mondays (except national holidays)
General administration: Free (online reservation required)
Tel: (86-10) 83195525

The Cultural Palace of Ethnic Communities, proposed by Chairman Mao Zedong (1893-1976) and personally approved by Premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), was completed and opened to the public on Oct 6, 1959, as one of the "Ten Great Buildings" in Beijing, marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Its main building covers over 37,000 square meters, standing 68 meters tall with 13 floors, with east and west wings extending on the two sides and the central exhibition hall protruding northward. White-glazed bricks cover the wall, setting off the peacock blue-glazed tiles on the roof. With a towering structure, the palace boasts a unique and majestic architectural style, showcasing a distinctive Chinese ethnic aesthetic.

Often referred to as the "Palace of National Culture", "Palace of National Classic Books" and "Home of Ethnic Communities", the palace is one of China's professional institutions for collecting the largest and most diverse ethnic artifacts, rare books and documents, and works of art.

The collection includes over 50,000 ethnic artifacts, with more than 600,000 volumes covering 24 kinds of documents written in characters of Han and other ethnic communities, and over 4,200 paintings by renowned artists of all ethnic groups of China, including many rare and unique items. Among these are manuscripts and inscriptions in various ethnic languages, and treasures such as talipot palm-leaf and bodhi-leaf manuscripts of Buddhist texts, which are rare to see both domestically and internationally.

On Aug 1, 2023, the Cultural Palace of Ethnic Communities launched the Exhibition of Artifacts and Classic Books, showcasing the history of the formation and development of the Chinese national community. The exhibition presents stories of ethnic interaction, exchange, and integration throughout history. The showcase has received widespread acclaim for its educational impact.