10 Weird and Quirky Beijing Museums You Have to Visit
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With the weather cooling down and still several days of the October holiday to go, exploring a museum could be a great way to pass the time. Beijing has plenty of quirky museums that are dedicated to oddly specific areas ranging from vintage cars to the notorious baijiu. Below is our list of 10 of the best niche museums in Beijing, for when you've exhausted the usual options.
Note: As some of these museums are in the Qianmen/Tiananmen Square area, check before you visit as there are still some road and subway closures in this area until Oct 7.
The China Court Museum (中国法院博物馆 zhōngguó fǎyuàn bówùguǎn) is tucked into the former Yokohama Specie Bank on a corner of Dongjiaomin Xiang, an area packed with former embassies. The museum offers a history of jurisprudence in China from imperial times to the present day. There are notable sections featuring Chinese fallen officials, as well as famous legal cases from both in and outside of China. Read more about it here.
Free (ID or passports required).
Tue-Sun 9am-4pm.
4 Zhengyi Lu, Dongcheng District (6755 7825)
东城区正义路4号
As the weather heats up, what is better than a museum that helps you know everything about watermelons? Located near a group of Beijing's largest watermelon plantations, the juicy China Watermelon Museum (中国西瓜博物馆 zhōngguó xīguā bówùguǎn, which is even shaped like a watermelon) features a wide range of exhibits including paintings, statues, and videos, and will teach you more than you ever dreamed of knowing about these luscious summer plants.
RMB 20.
Tue-Sun 10am-4.30pm.
Panggezhuang Town, Daxing District (8928 1181)
大兴区庞各庄镇政府院内
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Xuannan, or "south of Xuanwumen," refers to the area southwest of the Forbidden City, including historical blocks such as Tianqiao, Niujie, Dashilar, and Liulichang, an area fostering a unique cultural atmosphere that still thrives to this day, making Xuannan culture famous throughout China. The Xuannan Cultural Museum (宣南文化博物馆 xuānnán wénhuà bówùguǎn) houses eight exhibition halls, each featuring on a specific aspect of Xuannan culture, including those performing art forms like crosstalk, acrobatics, and temple fairs. Read more about it here:
Free (ID card or passport required).
Tue-Sun 9am-4.30pm. 9 Changchun Jie, Xicheng District
西城区长椿街9号
Dongsi Hutong Museum (东四胡同博物馆 dōngsì hútòng bówùguǎn) is located in an old, renovated 四合院 sìhéyuàn, and consists of five exhibition areas and exhibits centuries-long history and culture that flourished at Dongsi area through art installations, interactive presentations, and old everyday items, all of which give visitors a vivid impression of a side of Beijing life that is rapidly disappearing. Read more about it here.
Free.
Tue-Sat 10am-5pm.
77 Dongsisitiao Hutong, Dongcheng District (6402 7581)
东城区东四四条77条
Beijing's Maotai Museum (茅台博物馆 máotái bówùguǎn) is hosted in a traditional palace building close to the Forbidden City. It is home to five exhibition sections devoted to explaining the process by which China's most famous brand of 白酒 báijiǔ is made, its nearly two-century development, and the underlying culture of baijiu. The collections include rare bottles produced between 1967 to 1982, a period in which China witnessed great domestic turbulence, which are now valued at up to RMB 350,000 each. Read more about it here.
RMB 20.
Tue-Sun 10am-5pm.
7 Changpuheyan, Dongcheng District
东城区菖蒲河沿7号
A similar museum featuring another venerable and time-honored baijiu brand is the Red Star Erguotou Museum (红星二锅头博物馆 hóngxīng èrguōtóu bówùguǎn). Located in one of the businesses' old factories, here you'll find scenes dedicated to one of the country's most famous 二锅头 èrguōtóu producers, one known for its "stronger" flavor and bang-for-your-buck strength when compared to your usual baijiu.
RMB 20.
Daily 9am-4pm.
1 Hongxing Lu, Huairou District (5120 2902)
怀柔区红星路1号红星酒厂内
Moving away from Chinese spirits to Western drinks now, cola lovers will get a real kick out of the Coca Cola Museum (可口可乐博物馆 kěkǒukělè bówùguǎn). Coca-Cola was the first foreign brand welcomed back to the PRC in 1978, (even beating the US to the punch, entering China two days before the announcement of Sino-American normalization) and has remained firm ever since. This museum not only teaches you everything you could possibly want to know about this popular soft drink brand but also provides you with refills as you go.
Free.
Mon-Fri 10-11am, 2-3pm.
9 Rongjingdongjie, Yizhuang, Daxing District (6781 3399)
大兴区荣京东街9号
The Beijing Vintage Car Museum (老爷车博物馆 lǎoyé chē bówùguǎn) is actually a private museum with a limited but very impressive collection of rides, including from old Red Star series, to internationally distinguished vehicle brands such as Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz. While you don't see many of these beauties rolling around the streets these days, we think that Beijing's nouveau-riche, with their Peppa Pig-stickered, matte-pink Lamborghini's could learn a thing or two about style by cruising through this museum.
RMB 50, RMB 25 (children).
Daily 8.30am-5.30pm (April-October), 9am-4.30pm (November-March).
19 Fengxiangyiyuan, Yangsong Town, Huairou District (6167 7039)
怀柔区杨宋镇凤翔一园19号
The fascinating Beijing Eunuch Cultural Museum (田义墓 tián yì mù) is home to the cemetery of Tian Yi, an influential eunuch who lived during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The museum is divided into three main sections which explain the history of the practice of castrating males to create the eunuch class, the reasons this practice flourished and was eventually outlawed, and a collection of delicate statues and stone carvings.
RMB 8.
Tue-Sun 9am-4.30pm.
80 Moshikou Avenue, Shijingshan District (8872 4148)
石景山区模式口大街80号
You know all about the Bell Tower, but have you been to the Dazhong Temple Ancient Bell Museum (大钟寺古钟博物馆 dàzhōng sì gǔ zhōng bówùguǎn)? While the temple is one of the city's most famous, the museum is also home to over 400 types of old bells, including those used as instruments.
RMB 20, free (children under 1.4m).
Tue-Sun 9am-430pm.
31 A, North Third Ring Road, Haidian District (8213 2630)
海淀区北三环西路甲31号
If you're feeling frustrated by the fact that you can't drink the tap water here in Beijing, perhaps a visit to the Beijing Museum of Tap Water (自来水博物馆 zìláishuǐ bówùguǎn) would do you some good. This museum, located near Dongzhimen, taps into (har har) the city's history of indoor plumbing and may help you understand a little better the many challenges that plumbers face in getting clean water into the homes of more than 20 million Beijingers. Read more about it here:
RMB 5.
Wed-Sun 9am-4pm.
Courtyard 6, Qingshuiyuan, Dongzhimen Waidajie, Dongcheng District
东城区东直门外香河园街3号
Located on the west side of the Botanical Garden in the Fragrant Hills, the quaint little China Honey Bee Museum (中国蜜蜂博物馆 zhōngguó mìfēng bówùguǎn) is devoted to all things apian: sample different varieties of honey, see bee-keeping accouterments and spend your afternoon engrossed in apicultural studies.
Free.
Daily 8.30am-4.30pm.
Fragrant Hills Botanical Garden, Haidian District (8259 0094)
海淀区香山卧佛寺西侧
The map above shows museums that are located within the 6th Ring Road. Tap for larger view.
Photos: dianping.com, Wikipedia
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