Baoding Natural History Museum draws crowds

As the National Day holiday approaches, the Baoding Natural History Museum in Hebei province is drawing growing numbers of families and school groups.

During this year's May Day holiday, the museum saw approximately 8,000 daily visitors, with 53 percent from outside Baoding, according to the museum. It is expected to once again be a key stop for educational tourism in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region during the upcoming holiday.

When it opened in January 2024, the museum immediately became one of Asia's largest natural-science institutions. Occupying 7.31 hectares in Baoding's Lianchi district, it houses five themed galleries – Earth Pulse, Ancient Oceans, Dinosaur Empire, Mammal Evolution, and Extinction Crisis – along with two large temporary exhibition halls.

It offers immersive experiences through AR and VR technologies, so that visitors can interact with prehistoric creatures. Popular educational programs like "Night at the Museum" and "Dinosaur Night Watch" engage children with hands-on activities and fossil restoration workshops.