Best Museums in China
China is home to 13 world-class museums across 9 cities, from ancient art and archaeology to modern and contemporary collections.
All Museums in China
Free Entry
Beijing
National Museum of China
Flanking the eastern side of Tiananmen Square, it is one of the largest museums in the world.
Founded 2003
Beijing
Palace Museum (Forbidden City)
The imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, now China's most-visited museum.
Founded 1925
Free Entry
Beijing
National Art Museum of China
China's national gallery of modern and contemporary art, in a 1963 ceremonial pavilion in Dongcheng.
Founded 1963
Free Entry
Beijing
Capital Museum
The principal museum of Beijing's history and culture, with a striking elliptical bronze hall.
Founded 1981
Beijing
UCCA Center for Contemporary Art
China's leading independent contemporary art institution, in a former factory in the 798 Art District.
Founded 2007
Free Entry
Shanghai
Shanghai Museum
A landmark museum on People's Square, known for its peerless collection of Chinese bronzes and ceramics.
Founded 1952
Free Entry
Suzhou
Suzhou Museum
I. M. Pei's late masterpiece, set among classical gardens in his ancestral hometown.
Founded 1960
Hong Kong
M+
Asia's first global museum of contemporary visual culture, on the West Kowloon Cultural District waterfront.
Founded 2021
Free Entry
Guangzhou
Guangdong Museum
A provincial museum on the Pearl River, famed for its 'jade-box' Rocco Design building.
Founded 1957
Free Entry
Nanjing
Nanjing Museum
One of China's largest museums, with six galleries arranged around a recreated Republican-era street.
Founded 1933
Free Entry
Xi'an
Shaanxi History Museum
A vast provincial museum in Xi'an, capital of thirteen Chinese dynasties.
Founded 1991
Free Entry
Wuhan
Hubei Provincial Museum
Famed for the chime bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng, an extraordinary set of 65 bronze bells from 433 BCE.
Founded 1953
Free Entry
Shenyang
Liaoning Provincial Museum
One of China's earliest modern museums, with major holdings of imperial calligraphy and painting.
Founded 1949