The China National Arts and Crafts Museum is showcasing a rich tapestry of artworks and handicrafts that highlights both traditional and contemporary craftsmanship of exceptional quality.
Since its opening in February 2022, the museum, also known as the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, has welcomed over 2 million visitors. On the first day of the seven-day National Day holiday, which begins on Tuesday, the number of visitors who made appointments to visit reached 6,144.
To enhance the visitor experience during the holiday, the museum has launched several new exhibitions that emphasize both appreciation and artistry.
The museum has a total floor area of 91,126 square meters, comprising six above-ground floors and two underground floors, and houses fourteen exhibition halls and one multi-functional hall.
The museum currently collects a wide range of artworks and handicrafts. The main focus is on works created after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Among them, four large jade artworks - "Magnificent Scenery of Mount Tai", "Condensing Fragrance and Auspiciousness", "Diverse Blooms", and "Joyful Celebration Across the Seas" - are considered national treasures due to their large scale, excellent materials, ingenious design and exquisite craftsmanship.
One of the key techniques employed in some of the jade artworks is hollow-out carving, which involves hollowing out part or most of the jade material. This craft originated in the Neolithic Age and has evolved over thousands of years.
"This piece is a stone carving that applied hollow-out carving techniques, with the smallest carving knife used to work on the central part being thinner than an embroidery needle," said Zhang Yue, a guide of the museum.
Museum in Beijing attracts visitors with exquisite artworks and handicrafts during National Day holiday
Museum in Beijing attracts visitors with exquisite artworks and handicrafts during National Day holiday
Crews from Abu Dhabi TV and the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya channel are about to wrap up filming on the "Charming Beijing" TV series, a program that explores some of the most significant landmarks of China's capital.
The visiting film crews chose Beijing's administrative center in Tongzhou district as their first stop.
Three cultural landmarks located by the Grand Canal, namely the Beijing Performing Arts Center, the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing and Beijing City Library, and the soon-to-be-completed Beijing Integrated Transportation Hub at the Sub-Center Station beautifully showcase the fusion of culture and innovation in China's capital.
"The integrated transport hub of the Beijing Sub-Center boasts a huge railway network that connects multiple areas of Beijing. There are many layers underground, which is amazing. This has reached world standards in terms of transportation. We are all in awe at China's tremendous economic, technological, tourism, and cultural development," said Mohammed Abdulkareem, a host for Abu Dhabi TV.
During their nine-day stay in Beijing, the "Charming Beijing" production team also visited autonomous driving enterprises in Beijing E-Town, the National New Energy Vehicle Technology Innovation Center, and the International Robotics Industrial Park.
"We (the UAE and Chinese people) are both generous, hardworking, and committed to doing our best in every field, not only in economy and culture but also in sports. China has achieved good results in many sports events. These similarities bring us closer. We hope to establish more partnerships and yield more results hand-in-hand in the future," said Abdulkareem.
The "Charming Beijing" TV Series is supported by the city of Beijing's information office and China Media Group. It is set to air on TV channels in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia at the end of this year.
Since 2019, production teams from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Russia, Japan, Serbia, Italy, Croatia, and the Republic of Korea have been invited to film in Beijing.
Middle East media set to wrap filming on "Charming Beijing" series
