The national gallery of 20th-century and contemporary Chinese art, in a 1962 yellow-tiled building on May Fourth Street: Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong's horses, Luo Zhonglin's 'Father', plus a rolling programme of loan shows (a Renaissance exhibition and a Nikolai Fechin show among them; dates are on the official exhibition calendar). Free, but real-name booked: 6,000 places a day, released at 16:00 seven days ahead on the museum's website and WeChat, one visit per person per day, and, rare for Beijing, the official rule names passports as the document for foreign visitors. Closed Mondays; 800 m from Nanluoguxiang's south end.
EntranceLine 8 China Art Museum station, direct; or Line 5/6 Dongsi, then 600 m west (official directions); booked visitors queue at the reservation gate (the rules name the gate, not which side)
Last verified 2026-09-11
How to book
Museum website, WeChat service account or mini-program, up to 7 days ahead, released daily at 16:00; 6,000 places a day; 1 visit per person per day, up to 5 people per account; cancel by 16:00 on the day or it counts as a no-show (3 in 30 days = 30-day ban). Over-60s and other concession groups enter without booking on ID; children 6 and under skip the booking but are checked in with the person who bookedVerified · 2026-09Source ↗
ID details
Real-name entry; passports are accepted. Real-name: foreign visitors book with a passport or foreign permanent-residence card and show the original at the entrance check (official booking rules)
Beat the crowds
Blockbuster loan shows (the 2026 Italian Renaissance exhibition) fill the 6,000 daily places within minutes of the 16:00 release; in ordinary weeks a same-week weekday slot is easy. Inside, the ground-floor halls hold the headline show; the permanent Chinese-masters display upstairs is quiet.
Language
Bilingual labels for the permanent display and major loan shows; the website has an English version; enquiries 010-6400-6326, 9:00-16:00 (official), Chinese-speaking.