Beijing Xu Beihong Memorial Hall

　　In 1953, on the day of Xu Beihong’s death, his wife, Madam Liao Jingwen, donated their former residence at No. 16 Dongshoulu Street in Dongcheng District to the nation. In 1954, the “Xu Beihong Memorial Hall” was established on the site of the former residence, becoming the first personal memorial museum for an artist in New China. The name of the memorial hall was inscribed by Guo Moruo himself. In 1966, when construction began on the Beijing subway, the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall—which happened to be located on the subway line—was demolished. In 1973, following Premier Zhou Enlai’s directive to “rebuild the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall,” construction of a new site began. After over ten years, the new hall officially opened to the public in 1983. Located at No. 53 Xinjiekou North Street, the new hall features seven exhibition rooms showcasing authentic works such as Xu Beihong’s oil paintings, traditional Chinese paintings, sketches, and calligraphy.

　　Geographical Location

　　　　The new hall was completed in 1982 and is situated at No. 53 Xinjiekou North Street, Xicheng District. The total area of the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall

　　is 3,900 square meters, with a building area of 4,600 square meters. The main structure is a two-story gray exhibition building, consisting of one foyer and seven exhibition rooms. The foyer displays Xu Beihong’s self-portrait, large photos of him painting, and the exhibition introduction. The first, second, and seventh exhibition rooms feature representative traditional Chinese paintings from various periods of Xu Beihong’s career. The fifth room exhibits his oil paintings, the sixth his sketches, and the fourth is a memorial exhibition room dedicated to Xu Beihong’s life, showcasing the difficult journey of the young Xu from a poor rural background to achieving international recognition, as well as a reconstruction of his former studio and precious personal belongings. The new hall opened to the public in January 1983 and receives over 10,000 visitors annually.
　　In addition to the exhibition halls, a modern art storage facility has been built to better preserve Xu Beihong’s artworks as well as the collections of famous paintings and calligraphy he accumulated throughout his life, along with tens of thousands of books, historical rubbings, and other valuable materials.

　　Highlights of the Scenery

　　　　Exhibition Room Setup: The first, second, and seventh exhibition rooms display representative traditional Chinese paintings from various periods of Xu Beihong’s career  Xu Beihong Memorial Hall

　　. These include large-scale works such as “Jiufanggao,” “The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains,” “Ba People Carrying Water,” “National Martyrs,” “Boatmen,” “Mountain Spirit,” “The Poor Woman,” “Leaning on Bamboo at Dusk,” “Gallop,” “Herd of Horses,” “Shepherd Boy and Ox,” “Ox Bathing,” “Spring Rain on the Li River,” “Bamboo,” “Flying Eagle,” “Chickens Making Noise,” “Morning Melody,” “Against the Wind,” and “Cock Crowing in Wind and Rain.”
　　The second and seventh rooms also showcase 101 sketches, ranging from the artist’s early figure studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and Montparnasse studios in Paris to portraits of model workers and renowned scholars in his later years. Other works include “Ancient Fortress by the Ganges,” “Himalayan Forests,” “Gandhi,” “Singapore Boatman,” “Nepalese Girl,” and “On the Way to Jiming Temple.”
　　The third and fifth rooms exhibit oil paintings, including “Five Hundred Warriors of Tianheng,” “Ginkgo Tree,” “Moonlit Night,” “Flute Sound,” “Portrait of Chen San Yuan,” “Ox,” “Guilin Scenery,” and “Himalayas.”
　　The fourth room introduces Xu Beihong’s humble family background, youthful dreams, lifelong creative work, teaching, social activities, and his art exhibitions worldwide through numerous photographs. In the reconstructed studio and living quarters, his brushes, drawing boards, and paints are displayed. On the desk lies the Four Treasures of the Study that he used during his lifetime, while on the easel rests his final unfinished work, “Lu Xun and Qu Qiubai.” The walls of this room feature photos of his teacher, the renowned French painter Dagnan-Bouveret, a picture with his good friend, the Indian poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a photo taken with his wife a week before his death, and his last acquired artwork—Ren Bonian’s “Wisteria and Kingfisher.”

　　Collection of the Memorial Hall

　　　　The memorial hall currently houses 1,286 pieces of Xu Beihong’s artworks, including traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, sketches, watercolors, gouaches, and calligraphy. It also holds 1,134 works of calligraphy and painting by master artists from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties, and modern times, as well as about 10,000 items such as Chinese and foreign art books, stone rubbings, art albums, and pictures  Xu Beihong Memorial Hall

　　. Among them, the Tang Dynasty painting “Eighty-Seven Immortals Scroll,” the Song Dynasty painting “Zhu Yun Folding the Railing,” the Ming Dynasty painting “Wang Youjun Writing on a Fan,” and Jin Nong’s “Returning Home in Wind and Rain” are all rare masterpieces.
　　The Xu Beihong Memorial Hall has held exhibitions of Xu Beihong’s works in New Delhi, Kolkata (India), Victoria and Toronto (Canada), Hong Kong, Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), and Singapore.
　　Since March 28, 2008, the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall has offered free admission to the public. A daily visitor limit has been set, and a “free but ticketed” system is in place; visitors need to make reservations by phone or online in advance, and present proof of reservation to collect tickets at the museum entrance. Additionally, temporary and special exhibitions held after the free admission policy may still require separate ticket purchases as per regulations. Some services such as film screenings and audio guide rentals may also be subject to fees.

　　Historical Development

　　　　In 1954, the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall was established. Now, 50 years later, as museum development has made great progress entering the 21st century, the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall faces  Xu Beihong Memorial Hall

　　important choices regarding its direction in this new historical period. As a public institution, the museum needs to undertake deeper reforms in personnel systems, distribution systems, and organizational restructuring.
　　Xu Beihong once lived in an elegant courtyard house at No. 16 Dongshoulu Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing. In 1953, on the day of his passing, Madam Liao Jingwen and her family donated all of Xu Beihong’s artistic works to the nation. Premier  inscribed a plaque for the “Former Residence of Beihong.” In 1954, the government established the “Xu Beihong Memorial Hall” on the basis of the “Former Residence of Beihong,” which became the first personal memorial museum for an artist in the early years of the People’s Republic of China. Guo Moruo personally inscribed the name of the memorial hall. The museum’s first director was Wu Zuoren, then president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1957, Madam Liao Jingwen became the director and has remained in that position ever since.

　　Xu Beihong (1895–1953)　　Xu Beihong (1895–1953), of Han ethnicity, was originally named Xu Shoukang and came from Qiting Town, Yixing City, Jiangsu Province. He was a modern Chinese painter and art educator. He studied Western painting in France and, upon returning to China, devoted himself to art education, teaching at the Art Department of the National Central University, the Art College of Peking University, and Peking Art Specialized School. After 1949, he served as president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Skilled in figures, animals, and flowers and birds, he advocated realism and held Ren Bonian in high esteem among traditional artists. He emphasized integrating Western painting techniques into Chinese painting reform, stressed the importance of light and form, accuracy in anatomical structure and skeletal depiction, and highlighted the ideological content of artworks. He had a profound impact on Chinese painting at the time...  More+

Beijing Xu Beihong Memorial Hall is aAA-rated attraction