Beijing, the capital of China, is undoubtedly one of the most visited places in the world, with hundreds of millions of tourists every year. The city's long history and glorious culture endow the city with a great number of tourist attractions and historical sites.

For a short stay in Beijing, visiting all the interesting places is impossible, but don't miss the following top 15 attractions.

National Museum of China（国家博物馆）

[Photo/chnmuseum.cn]

The National Museum of China, located on the east side of the Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing, was founded in 2003 after a merger between the former National Museum of Chinese History and the National Museum of Chinese Revolution.

Covering nearly 200,000 square meters, the museum is now the largest museum in the world with first-class facilities. It holds a collection of 1.2 million pieces of cultural relics in forty-eight galleries. There are two permanent exhibitions: Ancient China and The Road of Rejuvenation, and more than a dozen categories of display related to thematic exhibitions and international exchange exhibits.

The museum also hosts special exhibitions on Chinese ancient art, such as bronze, porcelain, jade articles, Buddhist statues, furniture of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), ink painting and calligraphy.

One of the museum's most valuable collections is Si Muwu bronze quadrate vessel, 1.33 meters high and about 833 kg in weight, dating back to about 3,500 years ago.

Group visitors need to book in advance while individuals can get tickets at the entrance for free.

Admission: Free