National Museum of China (Guojia Bowuguan)
The Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the Musuem of History have been united in a single building, but renovations won't be completed until 2008. Until then, a series of exhibits emphasizing the greatness of the Chinese civilization will be shown. Some effort has been made to spruce things up, and English captions have been added to a number of the displays, although they are conspicuously lacking from the hilarious wax figure hall. In the past, interest centered on who was omitted from Chinese history; now it focuses on who is included. Former unpersons such as Liu Shaoqi and Lin Biao, Mao's ill-fated heirs apparent, are displayed alongside their tormentors. The Party line is scrupulously followed: The passive and obsequious Lin, whose death went unreported for nearly a year, is still said to have plotted to seize power from Mao.
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| Hours | 9am-3:30pm | |
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| Location | East side of Tian'an Men Sq., Dong Cheng Qu | |
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| Transportation | Metro: Tian'an Men East (117, exit D) | |
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| Phone | 010/6512-8901 | |
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| Web site | www.nmch.gov.cn | |
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| Prices | Admission ¥30 ($4) fortong piao, or ¥10-¥20 ($1-$3) for each exhibit; English audio tours ¥30 ($4) | |