There stand five pavilions on the summit of Jingshan hill. They are of the typical Chinese structure with two-story thatched roofs and neatly built stairs. The highest pavilion is called Wanchun Pavilion, from which visitors are able to have a grand view of the resplendent and splendid Forbidden City in the south, the dignified Bell and Drum Towers in the north, as well as the White Dagoba in the west. The other four pavilions are built at the four corners of the park. Each of these pavilions had a copper statue of Buddha symbolizing the five kinds of tastes: acid, spicy, bitter, sweet and salty. They were once looted and destroyed in the wartime and the replacement Buddhas in display now were made in 1999.

Jingshan Park, a beautiful royal garden, is located in Xicheng District, immediately north of the Forbidden City on the central axis of Beijing with an area of 230,000 square meters (about 57 acres). It was first built in 1179 specially for the royal families to make sacrifices to the ancestors. Standing on the summit of Jingshan, visitors can get a fully clear view of Beijing particularly the Forbidden City.

Jingshan Park is founded on Jingshan Hill which rises to a height of 48 meters (157.5 feet). It was originally named as Wansui Hill (Long Live Hill), Zhen Hill or Meishan Hill (Coal Hill), because coal was later piled there, and Feng Shui Hill because it was constructed north of the Forbidden City to protect it from cold northern winds. It was finally called Jingshan Hill in 1655 during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).

Roaming along the Qianmen Street, visitors can take streetcars for free, visit time-honored stores such as Yue Sheng Zhai, Quan Ju De and Guang He Grand Theater and immerse themselves in the nostalgic and modern atmosphere. At the south end of the Qianmen Street, a 6,000-square-meter (1.5 acres) place gather old brands of catering industry together, offering different kinds of traditional foods. Along the both sides of the street, many special street lamps are hung. Their appearances imitate bird cages, rattle-drums and candied haws on sticks, filling the street with Beijing flavor.

Entrance Fee: Free

Transportation:
A. Bus Routes: Take Bus No. 5, 8, 9, 17, 20, 22, 44, 48, 59, 66, 67, 69, 71, 120, 126, 201 (Night), 203 (Night), 209 (Night), 212 (Night), 301, 337, 646, 673, 690, 692, 723, 729, 803, 808 or 826 and get off at Qianmen Stop.
B. Subway: Take Subway Line 2 and get off at Qianmen Station.

Since the one-year-long reconstruction finished in May 2008, Qianmen Street has reproduced old Beijing's look and flavor: streetcars, decorated archway (pailou) and bird cages as well as bronze drums all familiar to Beijing people reappear on the street.

The reconstruction plan is in accordance with old photos of Qianmen of the old time. The buildings on the two sides of Qianmen Street are low-rise buildings; one part is two storey buildings with green tile and red pillar, which imitate the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty. Another part of the buildings imitate the architectural style of the Republic of China, adopting brick and cement structure and every building hanging a plaque with golden characters on the black.

When entering the street, visitors can first see the Zhengyangmen Bridge and Wu pailou (decorated archway). Located in Zheng Yang Men, Wu Pai Lou (decorated archway) is restored in accordance with its original appearance. Supported by 6 red pillars, at every pillar's base are two stone carved lions, one standing in front, another in the rear. 12 stone carved lions guard the decorated archway; their bases are engraved with dragons, phoenixes and kylin, symbolizing auspicious meanings.

Famous for its architecture, business, folk-custom and operatic culture, Qianmen Street has been a distinctive street since the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) Dynasties. With 700 years of history, the 845-meter Qianmen Street starts from Zhengyang Gate (Zheng Yang Men) in the north and ends at Zhu Shi Kou Street in the south. Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty made Beijing the capital, and built it around a central axis from south to north; the inner town had nine city gates; Zhengyang Gate was in the center of south town, usually called Qianmen.

Opening Time: 09:00 - 17:00 daily & Closed on Mondays
Tickets: Individual visitors can line up for the free tickets at the Ticket Center of the West Gate with valid certificates during the opening time, such as Chinese ID Card, Passport, Officer Certificate, Soldier’s Card and Student Card. Visitor groups greater than 20 must make advance reservations by phone (phone number: 010-65116400). On the day of the visit, the group leader should obtain the individual tickets at the Ticket Center of the North Gate; entry to the museum is via the North Gate.
Please Note there is a limit of 5000 persons for group visitors, but not to individual visitors. Visitors have to pay for some special exhibitions.
Transportation:
Bus Routes: take Bus No. 1, 1 (Though), 2, 10, 20, 37, 52, 59, 82, 99, 120, 126, 728, 1 (Special), 2 (Special), and get off at Tiananmen East; take Bus No. 5, 17, 20, 22, 48, 59, 66, 69, 71, 82, 120, 126, 301, 626, 646, 690, 692, 729, and get off at Qianmen; take Bus No. 2, 5, 20, 22, 120, 126, 1 (Special), 2 (Special), and get off at Tiananmen Square East;
Subway: take Beijing Subway Way Line 1 and get off at Tiananmen East Station; take Beijing Subway Line 2 and get off at Qianmen Station.
Instructions for Luggage Storage: visitors can store their luggage at the luggage areas at the entry gate with the ticket and valid certificate. The luggage should be taken out the same day before the museum is closed. The service fee is CNY 1 each time. Take care of the receipt for the storage, since it is necessary for getting the luggage back when leaving. Please don’t store valuable items, such as gold and silver jewels!

Thematic and Communication Exhibitions:
China National Museum is also well-known for its various thematic exhibitions. The most popular of them are Ancient Chinese Currency, Ancient Chinese Jade, Ancient Chinese Bronze Art, Ancient Chinese Porcelain Art and Ancient Buddhist Sculptures. The museum also holds some temporary exhibitions to display some significant archeological discoveries, arts and cultural relics exchanged with other national and international museums.

Collections of Great Variety
Collections in China National Museum range from the ancient times to the modern times. Ancient collections include bronze vessels, pottery & porcelain wares, jade, silver & golden objects, calligraphy and paintings, coins, clothing, Buddhist statues, books, furniture, inscriptions on stone tablets, weapons, measuring vessels, music instruments and seals. Collections of modern times are relevant to the major events and important figures of modern Chinese history, such as the Wooden Gavel used to announce China's membership of the World Trade, the Seal of the People's Government of the People's Republic of China and the flag raised by Chairman Mao at the Proclamation of the People's Republic of China.

Two Basic Displays: Ancient China: Distributed throughout ten major exhibition halls, the Display of Ancient China shows the long historical process from the Prehistoric Times to the late Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) chronologically. With a large number of precious cultural relics, this display fully shows the continuous development of China's civilization, the process of building a multi-ethnic country, Chinese nation's brilliant achievements in politics, economy and culture, as well as the Chinese people's great contribution to human civilization. A total of 2,520 exhibits divided into 8 sections are displayed, including Prehistoric Times (1.7 million years ago - 21st Century BC), Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties (21st Century - 771 BC), Spring and Autumn Period & Warring States Period (770 - 221 BC), Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC - 220 AD), Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Southern and Northern dynasties (220 - 589), Sui, Tang, and Five dynasties (581 - 960), Liao, Song, Western Xia, Jin, and Yuan dynasties (916 - 1368), Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 - 1911). The Road of Rejuvenation: The exhibitions in this section illustrates the glorious but long and winding course of achieving a dependant and prosperous country and national happiness over the past 175 years since the First Opium War in 1840.

Opened to the public on February, 2003, it was established based on the original China History Museum and China Revolutionary Museum. From March of 2007 to the end of 2010, it underwent a large scale reconstruction and expansion. At present, it has an architectural area of 200,000 square meters (49.4 acres), equipped with world-class hardware facilities and functions. In the museum, there are 1,060,000 pieces of collections, 48 exhibition halls, two basic displays named 'Ancient China' and 'the Road of Rejuvenation', as well as dozens of thematic and communication exhibitions.

The museum has been reopened to the public for free since 27th March, 2011, but an entrance ticket is still required. Individual visitors can get the ticket from the ticket office near the west gate of the museum while group visitors need to reserve the ticket through telephone 2 days in advance and get the ticket at the ticket office near the north gate of the museum. The reservation number is 010 - 65116400 (09:00 - 16:00). Coordinating with the Great Hall of the People, China National Museum is situated on the east side of the Tiananmen Square. It is a comprehensive museum, displaying collections, exhibitions, research, archaeology, public education and cultural communication.