China Red Sandalwood Museum

　　The China Red Sandalwood Museum was built with an investment of 200 million RMB by Ms. Chen Lihua, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The museum is affiliated with Hong Kong Fu Wah International Group.

      Heading east along Chang'an Avenue, on the north side of the Gaobeidian exit of the Jing-Tong Expressway, you will see a large complex of Ming and Qing dynasty-style buildings—this is the China Red Sandalwood Museum. It was built with an investment of over 200 million RMB by Ms. Chen Lihua, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chairperson of Hong Kong Fu Wah International Group, Honorary Doctor of Humanities and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Savannah College of Art and Design in the United States. It is a key project presented by Beijing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The China Red Sandalwood Museum is China’s first large-scale private (non-public) thematic museum dedicated to the collection, research, exhibition, and appreciation of red sandalwood art and traditional classical Chinese furniture. It fills a gap in China’s museum landscape.

　　The China Red Sandalwood Museum itself can be considered a rather perfect and spectacular work of art. Covering an area of 25,000 square meters, the museum features a grand yet exquisitely detailed design, blending classic elegance with modern touches. Just the main gate alone used more than 400 cubic meters of wood, all in pure timber structure, with four supporting pillars that are 8 meters tall and 0.6 meters in diameter—their scale and material are rare even among Beijing’s antique-style buildings. Its five-story main building uses the traditional “millimeter-perfect brick-mortar joint” technique. The over 1,000-square-meter front plaza adopts the once royal-exclusive “seawall-laid slab” flooring—large blue bricks paved and then soaked in tung oil. Chen Lihua hired master carpenters, tilers, and painters who had worked at the Palace Museum since the early days of the People’s Republic of China to oversee the entire project. These experts are often referred to as “living national treasures.”

　　The China Red Sandalwood Museum has an exhibition area of 9,569 square meters. It includes a central hall, exhibition halls, conference rooms, VIP rooms, multi-function rooms, and temporary exhibition spaces. Here you can admire: a display of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture meticulously collected by Museum Director Chen Lihua over decades; displays of fine traditional furniture pieces carefully guided by Director Chen over the past 30 years; exhibitions of Buddhist cultural artworks; displays showcasing traditional furniture materials, forms, and structures; as well as carving craftsmanship. Additionally, you can explore miniature landscapes of ancient Chinese architecture: the corner towers of the Forbidden City, the Qianqiu Pavilion and Wanchun Pavilion in the Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City, all exuding imperial grandeur; the Dragon Spring Temple memorial archway in Mount Wutai, Shanxi, featuring 320 dragons in varied poses, with exquisite round carving, relief carving, and openwork carving—rare in the world; classic old Beijing siheyuan (courtyard houses), the soaring Shanxi Feiyun Tower, large-scale architectural models of old Beijing city gates… These artistic treasures that convey the charm of the Orient are all crafted from precious red sandalwood.

　　Over the years, the China Red Sandalwood Museum has upheld the business philosophy of “inheritance, development, and innovation,” quietly cultivating and promoting the art of traditional Chinese furniture. It is thanks to the foresight of Museum Director Chen Lihua that the nearly lost craft of red sandalwood carving has been rescued, preserved, and innovated. In September 2011, the “Red Sandalwood Carving Technique” declared by the China Red Sandalwood Museum was included in the third batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the State Council. In 2012, it was designated as a Beijing Intangible Cultural Heritage Productive Protection Demonstration Base by the Beijing Municipal Government.

China Red Sandalwood Museum is aAAAA-level attraction

Address: No. 23 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing (500 meters east of Sihui East Station on Metro Line 1)

Type: Museum

Rating: AAAA

Recommended visiting time: About 2 hours

Phone: 010-85752818

Official website: http://www.redsandalwood.com/

Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 9:00–17:00 (Closed on Mondays, last entry at 16:30).

               Tips: The attraction is closed every Monday and from New Year’s Eve to the third day of the Lunar New Year.

Ticket price: 50 RMB

　　Information source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development