Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum

Located on the 4th floor of Gongmei Emporium, the Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum displays over 3,000 pieces of traditional Chinese arts and crafts, including jade and ivory carvings, cloisonné, and carved lacquer.

Planning your visit

The Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum occupies the fourth floor of the Gongmei Emporium on Wangfujing, and it holds over 3,000 pieces representing the imperial craft traditions that Beijing workshops maintained for the court.

The techniques are the subject: jade carving, where the material's hardness means it is abraded rather than cut and a single piece may take years; cloisonne, the enamel-on-copper work known as Jingtailan after the Ming reign in which it flourished; carved lacquer, built up in dozens or hundreds of layers then cut in relief; filigree gold; and ivory carving, which the museum displays historically while noting the trade is now banned.

Contemporary master craftsmen's work sits alongside historic pieces, and the emporium below sells current production.

These crafts survived the twentieth century through state workshops, and the museum documents that continuity.

Bookable options are official entry tickets. Current availability is listed below.