Capital Museum

The Capital Museum in Beijing is one of China's largest civic museums, relocated in 2006 from the Confucius Temple to a purpose-built block in Xicheng district. Designed by Cui Kai, the rectangular building with its tilted bronze cylinder houses 60,000 square metres of collections covering Beijing city history, Ming and Qing porcelain, jade, Buddha figures and calligraphy. Ritual bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties are key pieces, alongside models of the old city walls demolished in the 1960s. Entry is free after online booking; visitors move through thematic floors with English captions, often surprisingly empty compared to the Forbidden City.