A wonderful journey of Beijing's museums

Two years ago, Night at the Museum was a smash-hit at movie box-offices across North America. Now, the second installment titled "Battle of the Smithsonian" is coming to China. In addition to entertaining people, the movie can also remind them of the charm of museums.

China Sports Museum

The China Sports Museum is on the southeast side of the Olympic Center outside the Andingmen Gate. The building is quite extraordinary, symbolizing the powerful development of Chinese sports. It's the first specialized museum devoted to collecting, exhibiting, and researching sports culture and history. It contains an exhibition area of more than 25-hundred square meters, including seven exhibition halls.

The ancient Chinese sports section covers the time from the pre-Qin Dynasty era over 2,500 years ago, to the Qing Dynasty which ended in the early 20th century. The items on display reflect the accomplishments of China's ancient sports development. There are photographs, pictures, rubbings, documents and historical material, and such archaeological works as the Tang dynasty polo players. The modern sports section, extends from 1840 up to the 1949, explaining the changes in this period through the use of historical photographs and actual objects. And the largest hall is dedicated to the sports accomplishments of the People's Republic of China. With more than a thousand items, the hall traces the tremendous growth and development of China's sports sector over the past 60 years.

After visiting this museum, Juan Antonia Samaranch, the former President of the International Olympic Committee called The China Sports Museum one of the best he has seen in the world.