Delight at the museum

Miriam Clifford, co-author of a new guide to China's museum gives the low-down on Beijing's top five educational attractions

China Railway Museum

The atmosphere is wonderful – the museum is located inside a giant hangar – and it’s the perfect place to drag your children along to on a Saturday afternoon.

What you’ll see: The beauty of the trains themselves – their scale and colour – make them pieces of art in their own right. The first premier of the People’s Republic of China, Zhou Enlai, also has his personal carriage on display.

You can climb right in, poke around, sit in the seats, look at the bedroom and bathroom he and his wife actually used in the ’50s and ’60s.

Top trivia: The first railway line in China was built illegally by a group of Englishmen associated with the Hong Kong trading company Jardine Matheson.

Museum of Ethnic Costume

This is one of Beijing’s best-kept secrets. On the second floor of a highrise building – the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology – the lift opens into a beautifully designed modern gallery.

The museum features mainly ethnographic textiles and jewellery displayed with plenty of English explanations.

What you’ll see: Beautiful examples of Miao minority clothing and an elaborate 18th century silver, gold and coral headdress belonging to a princess of the Mongolian Chahar tribe.

There are also fascinating old photos of Tibetan and Qiao minorities taken by ethnographer Zhuang Xueben.

Top trivia: Much like the Native Americans, the Hezhe minority used to construct waterproof clothing made from fish skin.

Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum

Do you get the feeling that all ancient Chinese temples look alike? A visit to the Ancient Architecture Museum will set you straight.

The complex is the sister site to the Temple of Heaven and of great historical significance. Get down there and check it out.

What you’ll see: Once you’ve been through the museum, you will come away with an appreciation of the Daoist and Confucian elements inherent in Chinese architecture.

Then using your new-found knowledge you can imagine yourself here in 1420 watching the Emperor perform the agricultural rituals and animal sacrifices to Xiannong, the god of agriculture.

Top trivia: While the Emperor performed the prescribed rituals, the Empress was at the Altar of Silkworms feeding mulberry leaves to silkworms raised there.

Geological Musem of China

This place is world class in terms of collection and display and serves as another great destination for kids.

What you’ll see: At the Prehistoric Life Gallery, you’ll find the famous Liaoning fossils which rocked the scientific world with evidence that birds developed from the dinosaur.

Top trivia: Look out for the fossil of a rare mutation of the dinosaur Hyphalosauraus lingyuanensis showing it with two heads.

Tian Yi Mu and Fahai Temple

Tian Yi Mu is Beijing’s eunuch cemetery and was built for Tian Yi, Ming emperor Wanli’s favourite. At the moment, the small museum on the site contains mainly posters and blow up photos, though an improved museum is promised.

What you’ll see: The cemetery has a really wonderful, numinous atmosphere.

The grounds contain the graves of several eunuchs besides Tian Yi – there are tombs and the altars in front of them on which their adopted children could make their offerings.

After visiting the graveyard, climb up Cuiwei Mountain to the Fahai Temple, another eunuch project, built by Li Tong during the Ming dynasty, which contains magnificent 15th century murals.

Top trivia: After the eunuch Tian Yi died in 1644, Emperor Wanli declared three days of national mourning.

Miriam Clifford and Cathy Giangrande, co-author of China: Museums, will be giving a talk and tour of their favourite museums on Saturday 14 as part of the Bookworm Literary Festival.

Directory

China Railway Museum

1 Jiuxian Bei Lu, Chaoyang district (6438 1317). Open 9am-4pm Tue- Sun. 中国铁道博物馆, 朝阳区酒仙 北路1号

Museum of Ethnic Costume

A2 Yinghua Dongjie (Second Floor of the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology Building), Chaoyang district (6428 8261; www.cnnc.org). Open 8.30-11.30am Mon-Tue, 1.30- 4pm Thur-Sat.民族服饰博物馆， 朝阳区樱花东街甲2号北京服装学 院二层

Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum

21 Dongjing Lu, Xiannongtan, Xuanwu district (6304 5608). Open 9am-4.30pm daily. 北京古代建筑博 物馆, 宣武区先农坛东经路21号

Geological Museum of China

15 Yangrou Hutong, Xisi, Xicheng district (6655 7858; www.gmc.org.cn). Open 9am-4.30pm Tue-Sun. 中 国地质博物馆, 西城区西四羊肉胡 同15号

Tian Yi Mu and Fahai Temple

80 Moshikou Dajie, Shijingshan district (8872 4148). Open 9am- 4.30pm daily. 田义墓—北京宦官文化 陈列馆, 石景山区模式口大街80号