China's National Museum to reopen on April 1

A 9.5-meter-high statue of Confucius debuted in the north square of the National Museum of China on Jan. 11, 2011. (Photo by Li Muyi)

After three and a half years, the 2.5-billion-yuan expansion of the National Museum of China is winding down, and the museum plans to reopen on the first day of April, according to the Beijing Morning Post.

The National Museum will join hands with three major German museums, including the Berlin National Museum, the Dresden National Art Collection Museum and the Bavarian State Picture Galleries, to hold its first exhibition after reopening. The theme of the exhibition is "Illuminative Arts." A large number of famous art works of Germany will come to China at that time, and the exhibition will last 12 months.

In addition, an exhibition about ancient Peru from the first century to the seventh century will be shown from April 28 to Oct. 28 at the America Room, and a total of 180 cultural relics, including potteries, textiles, metal objects and stones, will be there.

The museum nearly tripled in size from 65,000 square meters to almost 200,000 square meters, and the number of exhibition rooms increased to 49, including an Asia room, Africa room, Europe room and America rooms for international exhibitions.

Last February, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage transferred more than 390,000 cultural relics to the National Museum, bringing its total collection up to 1.05 million.

The current National Museum has already become one of the top museums in the world. It is not merely a public place for exhibition but also an important location that provides high-grade cultural enjoyment for the public. It will bring great spiritual pleasure for Chinese and global visitors.

Lv Zhang, the director of the National Museum, said the new National Museum could receive 8 million to 10 million visitors every year, about three times the amount it has seen in the past. Basic exhibitions in the museum will be free to the public, while some special exhibitions will charge a relatively small amount for a ticket due to preparation expenses.