National Museum of China: a civilization in one building

On the east flank of Tiananmen Square sits the building where China keeps its proof: the National Museum of China, routinely the most-visited museum on the planet. The basement "Ancient China" galleries run the whole arc from Peking Man to the Qing court through two thousand relics — including the Houmuwu Ding, a 3,000-year-old bronze cauldron weighing over 800 kg, the heaviest ancient bronze ever found, and the elegant Four-Goat Square Zun.

Entry is free with a real-name reservation: tickets release 7 days ahead at 17:00, and — the underused fact — there’s an official English booking portal that takes passports directly. Closed Mondays.

On now (checked September 2026)

The temporary floors are unusually international this autumn:

• Pompeii: Exploration and Excavation — through October 11.
• Soul of Brazil: Portinari — Brazil’s great modernist, through October 11.
• Li Jingxun and Her Era — the jewel-laden tomb of a nine-year-old Sui princess, through October 8; small and haunting.
• Pu Songling and the Strange Tales — China’s ghost-story classic, through October 11.
• Amazing Chinese Characters and a major new Song-to-Qing painting and calligraphy show (opened September 4).

Note the clustering of closing dates around October 8–11 — if any of these matter to you, go before mid-October.

Doing it right

• Half a day minimum; Ancient China alone is two hours at a jog.
• Security is airport-grade (it’s Tiananmen Square) — bring your passport, travel light, allow queue time.
• Pair it with the Palace Museum across the square only if your feet are ambitious — each deserves its own day.

The easy way in

The 17:00 drop, the slot system and the Chinese-first interface still trip people up — and popular weekends vanish fast. KORA books it with your passport details, picks the entry slot that fits your day, and tells you honestly which of the current shows are worth your limited Beijing hours.