Beijing Museum for Cultural Relic Exchange is located in the Zhi-Hua Temple at 5 Lumicang, Dongcheng District. The purpose of this museum is to collect information and data about museums in the world and show the status quo of all the museums in Beijing region.

Zhi-Hua Temple has five courts, including Bell and Drum Tower, Zhi-Hua Gate, Zhi-Hua Hall, Buddha Hall and Dabei Hall. All the roofs are built with black glazed tiles, so the whole temple is solemn and magnificent, with unique style different from other temples in Beijing.

There are rich cultural relics preserved in the temple, with a number of over 1500. In the temple, the large fresco 4.8m's long and 3.1m's tall, which shows Dizang Buddha' preaching picture, is an extant elite of fresco in Ming Dynasty. The Tripitaka hall still preserves a "wheeling tripitaka", which is the extant oldest one. The music of Zhi-Hua Temple is one of the five kinds of ancient music in China. It has been passed down through 28 generations for over 540 years, so it is called a "living fossil" in the field of music.

Further Information:

Address: 5 Lumicang, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Bus Route: by bus No. 2 (special), 44, 750, 800 to Yabaolu stop or 24 to Lumicang stop.

Self-drive Route: from Jinbao Street of the east second round to the west for 100m until Xiaopaiifang lane, then to the north for 100m until the second lane entrance.

Opening Hours: 7:00-17:30

Admission Fee: 20 Yuan; 10 Yuan for students.

Tel: 8610-65286691

(China.org.cn August 25, 2005)