Just to the east of Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City lies a hidden gem of art and culture that, thanks to its relative obscurity, might just be one of the quietest places to get lost in Beijing.
The Huangcheng Art Museum (皇城艺术馆 huángchéng yìshùguǎn) is a peculiar beast. It’s part art gallery and part history museum, with a greater focus on allowing visitors to just sit back and appreciate the art side of things without being bombarded by facts and figures.
Inside you’ll find a collection of mostly ancient art, with everything from scroll paintings to larger ink wash works to depictions of the Buddha. Beyond this, there are also rotating exhibitions, with a highlight during a visit a while back being works by contemporary Chinese artists like Cai Guo-Qiang – the artist behind works like Sky Ladder.
The best part: it may be free entry, but thanks to the fact it’s not out in the open and not on the radar of too many tourists, it’s generally not too crowded. If you visit early on weekdays and there’s no one else about, it’ll feel like having a private tour of the place.
To visit the Huangcheng Art Museum, search for their official account on WeChat (search 皇城艺术馆) and click on 参加预约 cānjiā yùyuē. You can switch the language to English via a dropdown menu on the left-hand top corner. Then, simply register, pick the time you’d like to visit, and you’re good to get in some – hopefully – quiet art viewing bliss.
Huangcheng Art Museum 皇城艺术馆
9 Changpu Heyan, Nanchizi Dajie, Dongcheng District
东城区南池子大街菖蒲河沿9号
Hours: Tues-Sat, 10am-12pm (Morning), 2pm-4pm (Afternoon)
Contact: 010 8580 3051
READ: Is Louis Vuitton’s City Guide Worth the Hype?
Images: Dianping, Vincent R. Vinci
