Chinese museum housing a million relics reopens
By IANSTuesday, March 1, 2011
BEIJING - China’s National Museum, which houses over a million relics, including a 3,500-year-old vessel, reopened Tuesday after three years of renovation.
Spread over 191,900 square metres, the museum has 49 exhibition rooms.
The museum now holds a collection of more than 1 million cultural relics, according to the museum’s official website.
Xinhua reported that one of the museum’s most valuable collection is a Si Muwu bronze quadrate vessel, weighing over 800 kg and dating back to about 3,500 years ago.
A maximum of 3,000 visitors will be allowed in each day, said a statement on the website.
The museum plans to host several special exhibitions on Chinese ancient art, such as on bronze, porcelain, jade articles, Buddhist statues, furniture of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), ink painting and calligraphy.
The museum’s renovations started in March 2007 and finished at the end of last year. The project cost 2.5 billion yuan (about $360 million).
