The Chinese Traditional Culture Museum (CTCM), located on the northern extension of Beijing's central axis, is bustling with visitors. An exhibition named Basic Exhibition of Chinese Arts and Crafts — Prosperity Nourished by Chinese Culture is drawing crowds continuously.

The view of the CTCM

Looking up, visitors can see a "sky mirror" in the exhibition hall, designed with a dome space and augmented reality technology. This immersive audiovisual display gradually tells the story of Chinese arts and crafts, interpreting the Chinese concept of "harmony between man and nature”.

At the front of the exhibition hall are four jade masterpiece national treasures: Spectacular Scenery of Mount Tai, Fragrance and Fortune, Embracing Flowers and Joy Across the Seas are stunningly beautiful. There are also other key exhibits such as ivory carvings, jade carvings, bone carvings, shell carvings, lacquerware, metal crafts, weaving and embroidery, ceramics, bamboo and wood crafts, presenting a wide variety of categories and exquisite craftsmanship.

The CTCM’s jade screen exhibit named Joy Across the Seas.

The CTCM integrates "lectures, exhibitions and interactive experiences" into its activities. Onsite demonstrations of Kunqu Opera, guqin, an ancient Chinese musical instrument, Korean ethnic group folk music and dance and shadow puppetry allow visitors to get up close and personal with intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

"We hope more people of insight come here to deeply appreciate the charm of traditional Chinese culture and let the excellent Chinese arts and crafts and ICH shine in the new era," said Zhong Liansheng, a Chinese arts and crafts master and a national representative inheritor of cloisonné craftsmanship.

Participants enjoy their interactive teaching session during an academic lecture and exhibition on traditional dance ICH at the CTCM.

Beijing dough figurine artists display their skills during the Chinese handicrafts aesthetic education series at the CTCM.

Since its opening on Feb 5, 2022, the museum has received about 600,000 visitors. Its inaugural exhibition, Treasures of China, showcased over 1,000 exquisite pieces, including arts and crafts, guqin art, traditional musical instruments, and Silk Road murals, highlighting the beauty of Chinese treasures. 

During the 2023 Spring Festival, the exhibition Lantern Festival: Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit featured traditional lanterns from Beijing, and provinces of Shanxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Fujian and Anhui making itself a cultural highlight.

Visitors attend the Lantern Festival: Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit during the 2023 Spring Festival.

Over the past year, the museum has launched multiple educational brands, striving to build a museum that provides valuable learning experiences. 

Activities such as Chinese handicrafts, community classrooms and rural aesthetic education have focused on youth aesthetic education, traditional opera arts and rural aesthetic education, reaching nearly 10 million people. 

During traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, the CTCM hosts the Meeting at Two Museums series, promoting the new trend of celebrating traditional festivals in the museum. The establishment of the Inheritance and Transformation Laboratory aids in the dynamic transmission of arts and crafts and intangible cultural heritage, fully utilizing their cultural and social value.

The museum will continue to present various cultural and creative products that combine excellent traditional Chinese culture with daily life. The goal is to build a museum that satisfies the public and serves as a "national cultural living room" to tell China's stories effectively.