Source: CCTV.com
To experience any culture, one needs to examine its past, to gaze at the relics of its history. The history of Beijing travels back over three thousand years. It became the capital of the land called the Middle Kingdom a thousand years ago. All that history is well preserved in numerous museums dotted around the city. Some of those museums are atypical, even a little eccentric with enough fascinating relics to appeal to those who typically steer clear of museums. Today, we will take a peripatetic journey through some of Beijing's profusion of museums.
Walking along Beijing's main street, Chang'an Avenue, westward from the Forbidden City, it's easy to spot the China Millennium Monument. The monument, as is apparent, was built to celebrate the new millennium. Below the finial architecture lies a full spectrum of culture and art. Here one finds the World Art Museum.
The intensity of watching sporting events may have set your heart racing. You're probably drenched under the scorching rays of the sun. You can cool off here. This is a sedate retreat from the clamor of the arena. It's a place that can inspire. It can teach about the past. And its a place to discover the common heritage of Humanity.
Art lovers have a rare encounter with some of History's great civilizations. Masterpieces from six ancient kingdoms are here, all in one place.
The exhibition is called "Great Civilizations." It brings together 300 works of art. Their vintage extends from the 18th century all that way back to 3,000 B.C. One gazes upon the genius of six ancient civilizations: Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Greece, Rome and Mexico-America.
To discover historic China, the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in the heart of Beijing is the place to go.
The Forbidden City was the seat of supreme power for over five centuries. It's acknowledged globally as one of the greatest architectural complexes and historical masterpieces of all time. There is priceless testimony to the greatness of Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The former imperial domain is a treasure trove containing house thousands of precious relics. There is art, works of calligraphy. There are artifacts of porcelain, stone, jade, and bronze. There are paintings and carvings of ivory, bamboo and wood.
The Capital Museum houses 250,000 artifacts and archival photographs. Most of the relics were unearthed in the Beijing environs. The place, taken as a whole, is a document, chronicling life in Old Beijing. The museum is situated on Chang¡¯an Avenue in the heart of the city. You can recognize it from a distance by the rectangular roof extending over the structure like a mortarboard head piece. This museum boasts the most sophisticated facilities of any Chinese museum.
Grand View Garden replicates scenes from the foremost Chinese novel, Cao Xueqin's A Dream of Red Mansions. The story was written during the Qing Dynasty. The garden was designed and built during the 1980's -- for a television series based on the novel. Today this former "study set" is the site of the Red Mansion Museum of Culture and Art. It's a place for a quiet getaway and a peaceful stroll, enjoying images from the classic novel. The garden also hosts cultural events, celebrating ancient rituals during important Chinese festivals.

The Beijing Folk Museum was built to celebrate the folklore and old customs of Beijing. It's at Dongyue Temple, the largest Taoist Temple in North China. Since it opened to the public in 1999, the museum has mounted exhibitions focusing on distinctive folk styles. It is popular with people who live in Beijing. And the cultural events at festive times are especially attractive for foreign visitors.
The Beijing Arts & Crafts Museum boasts 3,000 rare pieces covering Chinese arts and crafts. The most prized collections include works of carved jade and lacquer, cloisonn¨¦ -- wood and ivory carving and bronzes created by the country's most acknowledged masters. Theme exhibitions are held at least once a month. So there are always new things to see.
Fayuan Temple, the oldest remaining temple in Beijing£¬It was built during the reign of Emperor Li Shimin during the Tang Dynasty, in the year 645. Originally it served as a memorial to soldiers killed in battle. Today, it houses the Chinese Buddhist Academy and the Museum of Buddhist Literature and Heritage. In its current role it has evolved as an important research center for Buddhism in China.

Yushengtang is an apothecary's shop for Chinese herbal medicine. It's nearly 400 years old. Originally it was "The Bai's herbal medicine shop." Emperor Qianlong renamed it s "Yushengtang" to honor the skills and medical ethics of the Bai family. In 1999, descendants of the Bai clan founded the Beijing Yushengtang Herbal Medicine Museum. Here one finds old medical instruments, books and samples of traditional Chinese leech craft.
The Theatre Museum of the Beijing People's Art Theatre is the first of its kind in China. There is an enormous range of exhibits, an immense piece of a wooden stage floor. And there are manuscripts of playwright Cao Yu, who wrote "Thunderstorm." Costumes and props are distributed throughout, recalling the great history of the theatre company.
The Ancient Currency Museum offers a glimpse of the history and evolution of the Chinese pecuniary system. There are coins, bonds, bank notes, abacuses, and other associated paraphernalia. They go as far back as the 8th Century B.C to the middle of the 20th century. China is believed by some, to be the first civilization in the world to use paper money and establish a central treasury. The museum's collection would best be appreciated by die-hard historians and numismatists.
The Beijing Urban Planning Exhibition Hall exhibits a huge scale-model of Beijing. It covers an area of more than 300 square meters. Once can gaze over the business district or the Olympic village. It also features interactive games and a multitude of miniature models.
The Guanfu Classic Art Museum was founded in 1997 by the famous antique collector Ma Weidu. It is the first private, non-profit, art museum in China. It can be found in suburban Beijing, not far from the capital airport. The collection focuses on relics and antique furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The National Museum of Fine Arts pioneered the exhibition of modern art in China. Today, it focuses on displaying, collecting and conducting research into modern art in China. It also takes a leading role in international art exchange programs. The exchanges involve the best of the world's art from traditional Chinese paintings to contemporary painting, sculpture and video installations.
The China Nationalities Museum is inside the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park. The park is divided, with a separate admission fee for each half. The park recreates the village settings of China's 55 ethnic minorities. There are various crafts, daily utensils. And there are immense carts, spinning wheels and the things which produce the necessities of life among ethnic communities.

We'll wind up our tour of the many and varied museums in Beijing, at the Museum of Folk Treasures. It's the only one of its kind in China. And it just opened in July. Its inaugural show is still underway. There are more than two thousand exhibits -- gathered from private collectors or on loan from other museums. There're, jade, wax works, masks, embroidery, tangka and ethnic costumes. A tenth of the exhibits will remain in the museum's permanent collection. The remainder will be exchanged regularly with other museums in other parts of the country to keep the displays fresh.