Art Museums We Loved In Europe & Asia. Beijing's Imperial Museum + Xian.

by David Russell

Of the Great Art Museums of Europe and Asia visited by my wife and I during our 55 years of International Travel, easily one of the most commanding was China’s Forbidden City, including the Imperial Museum, which houses centuries of historic Chinese riches. The Palace was already an active court when the Marco Polo Family visited Kublai Khan, but the city’s name at the time was Cambulac. Later, that was changed to Peking, the name most Chinese still use. Since 1949, outside China, it’s been Beijing.

Imperial City Art Museum

+86 10 8511 5104 ‎

Address: Inside Puchanghe Park, Dongcheng District, Beijing Bus Route: Bus No. 1, 2, 4, 10, 20, 37, 52, 59, 120,

120(branch), 728, 8201(special) to the bus stop of Tian'anmen, Underground Railway to the station of East Tian'anmen.

Hours: 9: 00-16: 30 Admission: RMB 20 Yuan (Adults), 10 Yuan (Students)

Other Related Museums

Military Museum of Chinese People’s Revolution

Mentougou Museum

Beijing Stone Carvings Art Museum

Beijing People’s Art Theater Museum

The Forbidden City, Beijing China

The almost 9000 room Forbidden City is Beijing’s most visited sight. Quick walking during our first visit formed a taste that became a hunger for more, satisfied years later. One unique attraction was a huge block of solid Jade with so much intricate carving, a full day wouldn’t uncover its many hidden secrets. Also made of or with Jade, both White and Green, were exhibits of Jade jewelry, animal and bird statuary, scrolls, screens and furnishings.

For the period from Ming until the end of Qing Dynasty, The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace. It’s construction begun in 1406 was mainly completed by 1420. The complex has 980 buildings with 8,707 roomsand covers 7,800,000 sq ft. It exemplifies the best of Chinese palatial architecture of its time. Listed by UNESCO, it has the largest collection of ancient wooden structures in the world.

Since 1925, the City has been part of the Palace Museum, exhibiting the finest artwork and artifacts from both dynasties. When Civil War separated China into two countries, part of the museum's collection was relocated into the National Palace Museum in Taipai, Taiwan.

When the palace was being constructed, to please the Gods, included in it were several temples dedicated to ancestral rites of Buddhism, Lamaism and Taoism.

Legend has it the Forbidden City was conceived in a dream by a visionary monk. What he imagined was an extraterrestrial city where the Lord of Heaven resided in a purple enclosure (believed to be a constellation formed by 15 heavenly bodies turning round the polestar). Why purple? According to Chinese cosmology, the color purple is the symbol of joy and happiness, a color reserved only for the Emperor. 

The city’s completion established the Emperor as the Son of Heaven with a mandate to maintain harmony between the human and natural world, linking both emperor and city to the divine forces of the universe. In Chinese dogma, the city became 'the purple city (Ch'eng) of the polestar (Tzu), where commoners cannot enter (jin)'. The literal meaning of China (ChungHua) is 'the country at the center' or 'middle kingdom', leading to the idea that the Forbidden City was at the very center of the world.

For a sampling of the museum, click Google The Imperial Museum, Beijing. The click on THE CITY MUSEUM. You’ll see a collection of 5,000 years of traditional Chinese art, from the Ming and Qing imperial courts.

Xian - The Terracotta Warriors and Horses

In China, other than the Forbidden City Imperial Palace and Museum, the next most touristy attraction is the Museum of the Terracotta Xian “Warriors”.

Fee: CNY110, including the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, the Museum of Terracotta Acrobatics, the Museum of Terracotta Civil Officials and the Museum of Stone Armor. The Museum of Terracotta Acrobatics and the Museum of Terracotta Civil Officials open this year. The Museum of Stone Armor has not opened either.

Hours: 08:30-17:30 (March 16-Nov.14); 08:30-17:00 (Nov.15-March 15)

Transport: From Xian Xianyang International Airport: Airport Shuttle Line 2 to Xian Railway Station. Bus departs every hour from 10:15 to 19:15 at 1F of T2. Cost: CNY 25. From Xian Railway Station, take tourism bus no.5 (306), bus no.914, 915. Get off at the final station.

Visitors can hire a taxi from Xian Airport. Use the official green colored taxies. Fee about CNY 200. Tell driver that you want only to go to the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors. Refuse to go to other scenic sites, especially souvenir shops.

From downtown Xian: Take tourism bus no.5 (306) from East Square of Xian RR Station or 307 from South gate of Tang Paradise. Exit at Bing Ma Yong (Qin Tarracotta Warriors) station. Takes about 1 hour.

From Lintong District:
Take bus 914, 915 or Special Line 101 to Museum. Takes 15 minutes.

Getting Around: 30 buses shuttle between the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. Free by showing entrance ticket.

When we visited, Terracotta Xian “Warriors” snd “Horses” … filled many buildings the size of aircraft maintenance hangers. Though picture taking was forbidden and strictly enforced, a nameless photographer shooting from the hip without raising the camera managed to land some fine shots, perhaps no match to the official books sold in the souvenir shop, but my 12 pictures didn’t cost $24.00.

On Oct. 1st, 2010 the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors & Horses and the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum have been combined into one huge tourist area. The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and other attractions open this year. After all 3 sites (Museum of Terracotta Acrobatics, Museum of Terracotta Civil Officials and Museum of Stone Armor) have been opened, the area will be renamed Lishan Garden. 30 free shuttle buses are scheduled to travel between the Lishan Garden and the Museum.

A bit of History: Ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, began construction of his mausoleum, which took 11 years to complete. When Qin Shi Huang eventually passed on, it was speculated that many buried treasures and sacrificial objects filled the mausoleum. Much of it has been stolen.

The site was discovered when in 1974 peasants digging for water uncovered some ancient pottery. Soon archeologists descended on Xian in droves. When the contents of the digs were established beyond doubt as artifacts were from the Qin Dynasty, the State Council authorized the building of a museum on the site.

The first structure was laid out to show the life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations. Initially covering an area of 16,300 square meters, the museum was divided into three pits, tagged in the order of their discoveries. # 1 Pit, the largest, opened to the public on China's National Day, 1975. That was the one we first saw. # 2 Pit, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of the first pit and contains over 1,000 warriors and 90 chariots of wood. In 1976, archeologists discovered Pit # 3, 25 meters northwest of Pit 1. To them, this pit looked like the command center, having 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses.

All told, over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots and weapons have been unearthed to date, with most restored to their former grandeur.

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses put Xian on the tourist map, listed by UNESCO in 1987.

If you’re planning on a China trip, also try to visit Shanghai, the heart of China’s finances. Also, visit at least one children’s art museum and one gymnastic center to see the athletes of tomorrow. If you also have the time, head for a stop in the unique hills of Guillin.

Two river cruises worth considering are a small cruise on the Lijiang River where you can watch locals on bamboo rafts use Cormorant Fishing Birds, The other is a multi day cruise to see the Three Gorges Dam construction.

Along the way, you may be served a bowl of Turtle Soup with the Turtle still in the shell. The Chinese loved eating it right from the shell, live; we watched and drank our beer.

Remember, the color Red is for luck and it’s the color bride’s wear. Watch out for Rice Vodka. It’s called Mai-Tai, but Chinese Mai-Tai is multiple steps up in alcohol content from the delicious cocktail our mild mannered stateside bartender’s serve. Finally, never try to out drink a Chinese.

Next week we visit a museum we drove 600 miles to see; the Kunstmuseum on the Rhine River, in Basel, Switzerland. When we were there, it was called the Picasso museum.