China: Beijing. China People's Revolution Military Museum (中国人民革命军事博物馆)

Last week, a couple of co-workers and I decided to spend the day at the China People’s Revolution Military Museum (中国人民革命军事博物馆). It’s a wonderful museum showing the history of the Chinese military and at certain points, gives an interesting viewpoint of key wars from the Chinese perspective.

The sheer number of exhibits is astonishing, and reminded me a lot of the South Korean Military museum in Itaewon that I visited many years ago.

Wikipedia sums it up well;

The museum’s four floors include ten halls, the largest of which is the Hall of Weapons. The Hall’s extensive holdings of antiquated weaponry showcase domestic and foreign weapons, including blades, small arms, artillery, tanks, armored personnel carriers, anti-air weaponry, jet fighters, rockets and rocket launchers, and cruise missiles. Foreign weapons include: Soviet tanks purchased or donated during the 1950′s and 1960′s, American weaponry captured from the KMT during the
Chinese Civil War and from UN forces during the Korean War, and Japanese weaponry captured during the Sino-Japanese War. In addition, the weapons hall displays equipment from China’s space program, satellites and an orbital capsule with two seats.

Source: Wikipedia

My co-workers, Miles and James, also seemed to enjoy witnessing all the cool things the museum had to offer. Of course, I also took a million photos, and while I won’t show you all of them, here are just a few;

Click here for photos…

The entrance to the museum.

 
Statues depicting the power of the people are everywhere.

 
Chairman Mao.

 
Look closely, something doesn’t seem right in this painting.

 
An awesome painting of soldiers in the past and them, or their relatives, now.

 

China’s history is long and bloody. Ultimately  the people won back their land.

 
A Chinese made MiG jet.

 
China’s first satellite.

 
Another Chinese made MiG fighter.

 
Another Chinese satellite.

 

One of many reasons that not many countries want to go against China these days.

 
I think I could have been a fantastic MiG fighter pilot. I have the scarf and all!

 
James and Miles playing plane.

 
A hummer Meng shi… hmm…

 
US tanks left over from the Korean War.

 
I don’t just look good in a MiG.

 
A view from the second floor.

 
A monument to the Korean War (War of American Aggression)

I highly recommend the museum to anyone visiting China.

Location: 北京市海淀区复兴路9号, China (No. 9, Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing. ) The museum is accessible by Line 1 of the Beijing Subway at the Military Museum Station and City Bus Routes 1, 4, 21, 65, 68, 205, 308, 320, 337, 617, 728, and 802.

Map: Google Maps

Cost: 25 yuan for 4 individual tickets to different parts of the museum.