Beijing Communications and Telecommunications Museum

Beijing Communications and Telecommunications Museum

The Beijing Communications and Telecommunications Museum is a science education base.

The original site of the Beijing Communications and Telecommunications Museum was located within the Donghuangchenggen Telephone Exchange (formerly the North Telephone Exchange), where the main exhibits included the step-by-step automatic telephone exchange installed during the Japanese puppet regime period and communication equipment from various eras. The current site is located at No. 9 Luomashi Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, and is under the administration of the Beijing Branch of China United Network Communications Co., Ltd. It officially opened on July 22, 2008. With an exhibition area of 3,300 square meters, it is a distinctive telecommunications-themed museum.

The museum’s current permanent exhibitions are divided into three sections, systematically showcasing the development and evolution of Beijing’s telecommunications industry over the past 130 years—from its inception to growth and increasing strength. Here, visitors can not only view precious communication artifacts such as telegraph line maps from the Qing Dynasty and telephones that once served Zhongnanhai, but also try sending Morse code and making calls through Beijing’s earliest automatic telephone exchange. Through a wealth of photos, physical objects, models, and the integration of modern technology, visitors can immerse themselves in the experience and witness the development and transformation of Beijing’s telecommunications over the past 130 years.

Development History

In August 1994, when the full digitalization of Beijing’s local telephone network was completed, the then Beijing Local Telephone Bureau, driven by the desire to preserve corporate history, established the “Beijing Telephone History Museum Preparatory Office” to begin planning the Beijing Telephone History Museum. After undergoing renovation, exhibit collection, design, installation, and other preparatory construction phases, it became ready to receive visitors in 1997. As an internal museum of the Beijing Telephone Bureau, it hosted visits from internal staff and important clients but was not open to the public. In August 2007, it was registered with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, and the museum was officially named the “Beijing Communications and Telecommunications Museum.” In March 2008, a new exhibition hall was constructed at the headquarters of Beijing Unicom located on Luomashi Street. After four months of intensive construction and setup, the new exhibition hall officially opened on July 22, 2008. It provided free admission for group visits but had not yet fully opened to the general public.

The museum site was chosen within Beijing’s last step-by-step exchange office—the Donghuangchenggen Telephone Exchange. The original machine room building from the Japanese puppet regime period was repurposed into the museum, with an exhibition area of approximately 600 square meters.

The Beijing Communications and Telecommunications Museum is housed within the Beijing Unicom Building, covering a total area of 3,300 square meters across two floors. The permanent exhibitions are divided into three major parts: Beginnings and Heritage, Development and Takeoff, and New Service Demonstrations. Through interactive demonstration systems, vivid sand table models, a large number of valuable historical artifacts, and photos, the museum retraces the origins, development, and historical changes of various communication services in the Beijing area, while also providing detailed insights into the evolution of communication technologies.

Opening Hours: 9:00–17:00 (Closed on weekends and holidays. Group visits only; not open to individuals.)