Guānfù Classic Art Museum 观复博物馆
大山子张万坟金南路18号
Top quality private Chinese art museum in rural setting
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
The location given for this museum is wrong on maps, including that on the museum’s own leaflet. The Jīnnán Lù address it gives appears to be Jīngǎng Nán Lù (金港南路) and anyway it’s on a section that’s actually called Nángao Lù (南皋路). Show taxi drivers the phone number to call for further directions if needed: the hunt is worth the effort.
This claims to be the first private museum in mainland China, opened in 1996 by antique collector Mǎ Wèidū (马未都) and originally located in the Liúlichǎng ‘antique’ shopping street. Mǎ began collecting antiques in the 1980s, when everyone else was saving for a television on which 20 years later they could watch Mǎ, now something of a TV star, talking about his life and his collection.
His horde, now in purpose-built halls and beautifully displayed, is particularly rich in porcelain and classical furniture. Bowls and dishes are displayed with mirrors underneath to reveal the kiln marks, and there’s plenty of explanatory material in good English. The excellent collection of famille rose ceramics includes an iron-red enamel plate with a design of fish and water weed, a vase with butterflies in relief in all different colours, and a giant red zūn wine jar, all from the Qiánlóng era. Not all Qīng porcelain is revoltingly gaudy.
Several rooms are filled with elegant classical furniture, lacquerware cabinets, and cloisonné pagodas, and a series of partly-assembled tables shows the method of construction, alongside an iPad app in English. A recreation of a study has a game of go (围棋, wéiqí) in progress, and there are also displays of traditional handicrafts, photography, classic doors and windows, enamelled bronzes, and screens. A tea house at the end also displays traditional Chinese weapons.
Altogether the museum is quiet, is of digestible size, has much that is exquisite, and can be visited at the same time as other art-related destinations northeast of the centre.
▶ Guānfù Bówùguǎn, Dà Shānzi, Jīnnān Lù, gps 40°0’32”N, 116°32’30”E,
t 6436 2308, www.guanfumuseum.org.cn, 9am–4pm; closed 3 days at Spring Fest. ¥50. b to 张万坟: 418, 688 (from Dōng Zhī Mén, Dà Shānzi 798 Art District, Cǎochǎngdì) and walk E.
Buses connect the Guānfù to two of Běijīng’s art zones. China Aviation Museum is slightly to the northwest at 40°1’ 2”N, 116° 31’ 57”E. The simplest (if not most direct) route is to continue about 2km west until you reach the Airport Expressway service road. Turn right and take the service road northeast for about another 2km. The entrance is on the right.
Next in Museums and Other Sights: Central Academy of Fine Arts Gallery
Previously: China Film Museum
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
