Museum of Ancient Architecture
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Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture, located at No. 21, Dongjing Road, Xuanwu District, Beijing, was formally opened in September 1991. It is the only museum in China displaying China's architecture cultural tradition in an all-around and systemic way. It is situated in the Xiannong Temple or the Altar of the God of Agriculture which was the imperial sacrifice place dedicated to the cult of Shennong( a legendary ruler supposed to have invented the plough and discovered the curative virtues of plants) in Ming and Qing Dynasties. With a 500-year long history, it consists of the Altar to the Year God and its auxiliary halls, the Platform for observing the Harvest, the Temple of Loyalty, the Emperor's Dressing Room, the Divine Granary for storing the five grains used in the ceremony and the Palace of Celebrating Completion where the pre-sacrificial fast was carried out in Ming Dynasty. It is among the rare ancient architectural complex in Beijing.
The Altar to the Year God and its auxiliary halls are the most spectacular architectural complex in the Museum. The Altar to the Year God is for carrying out sacrifices to the plant Jupiter and auxiliary halls on the east and west are for carrying out sacrifices to the Deities of the 12 Lunar Months. The Platform for Observing the Harvest is where the Emperor watched the princes, ministers doing farming every Spring Equinox after the emperor himself plough several furrows of land with his own hands. They doing this was for dignifying the toil of the meanest agriculture laborer. The Temple of Loyalty is in memory of the 72 martyrs who died in an uprising at Huanghuagang in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The Emperor's Dressing Room is where the Emperor changed into ceremonial robes before the sacrifices.
Besides, the Beijing Museum of Ancient Architecture exhibits lots of pictures, photos, materials and elaborate models of Chinese Architecture. It displays the development of Chinese ancient architecture from the hutch and mud house to the circumvallation and the palaces in Ming and Qing Dynasties, representing marvelous creativity of Chinese labor people and the brilliant achievement of Chinese architecture.
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The Museum of Ancient Architecture is a good museum, though a bit old and dusty. The English information i quite poor as well, but you can rent an audio guide at the entrance. The parts I found most interesting was the ones about old building techniques, as well as all the beautiful models of different kinds of architecture. In the building beside the museum there is also an exhibition about Xiannong (the god of agriculture) and the old Nongtan temple of which the museum is part. Be sure to see the photographic exhibition of the temple now and before the restoration (some 20 years ago), this tells you a lot about all the historical sites of Beijing.