National Museum of China

The Beijing National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆) is one of the largest museums in the world, with a collection of over 1.5 million items. The museum is located in the center of Beijing, on the east side of Tiananmen Square. The museum was founded in 1909 as the Palace Museum (故宫博物院), and was renamed the National Museum of China in 1954. The museum is divided into two main sections: the ancient section, which displays items from prehistoric times to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and the modern section, which displays items from the Republican period (1911-1949) to the present day. Highlights of the museum include the Jade Carving of a dragon (玉龙), a 6000-year-old Neolithic pottery jar from the Yangshao culture (洋陶文化), and a bronze statue of the god of wealth (财神) from the Warring States period (475-221 BC).