National Library of China Museum of Classic Books

National Library of China Museum of Classic Books

The National Library of China Museum of Classic Books is a national-level museum established on the rich collections of the National Library of China, with the goal of showcasing Chinese classics and promoting Chinese culture. It represents a new expansion of the library’s social education role. This comprehensive museum combines the functions of collecting, exhibiting, researching, preserving, and educating the public about classic books, as well as promoting cultural heritage and offering cultural leisure experiences. It serves as a hub for the collection of Chinese classic texts and artifacts, a showcase for classic book culture, a center for the research of such culture, a platform for international exchange on global classic book traditions, an educational base, and a public space for cultural leisure. In the future, it aims to fully integrate museum and library services, becoming an important hub for youth education and the dissemination of traditional culture.

Approved for official establishment in July 2012 by the Office of the Central Organization and Compilation Commission, the National Library of China Museum of Classic Books is China’s first museum dedicated to classic books and also one of the largest in the world in terms of area, collection richness, and number of representative exhibits.

Located in the South Zone of the National Library of China’s main building at No. 88 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, the museum covers a total floor area of 11,549 square meters and features 10 exhibition halls, providing the public with more extensive visiting space, better leisure facilities, and an enhanced museum experience.

Opened to the public free of charge in 2014, the museum’s inaugural exhibition systematically displayed treasured items from the National Library of China’s collection. The exhibits span a timeline of over 3,000 years—from oracle bones to contemporary manuscripts—encompassing a wide variety of formats including oracle bones, Dunhuang manuscripts, rare ancient books, rubbings of inscriptions, maps, architectural blueprints by the “Yangshi Lei” family, ethnic minority language texts, famous calligraphic manuscripts, and Western rare editions. The exhibition vividly presents the diverse and rich book culture of the Chinese nation as well as the extensive holdings of the National Library.

Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development