National Museum of China

The National Museum of China sits directly east of Tiananmen Square, occupying 195,000 square metres, one of the largest museum buildings in the world. It was formed in 2003 by merging the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution; a 2007 to 2011 redesign by Gerkan, Marg and Partner united the two halves behind a single facade. The collection runs to more than 1.4 million objects, including the Houmuwu Ding, the heaviest bronze vessel ever found, dating to the Shang dynasty, jade ritual vessels, the gilded Buddha head from Liangzhu and original documents from the Communist Revolution. With over 7.5 million visitors in 2016, it leads China's museum boom. Entry is free but requires advance booking and passport, and a thorough visit takes half a day.