Some journeys begin with a plane ticket.
Some begin with a map.
Our journey into 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation began with something much simpler:
Breakfast.
Because before Elaine and I attempted to travel from ancient China to modern China inside one of the largest museums in the world, Dad had one very practical thought:
“Better fill up our stomachs first.” 😄
The National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆, Zhōngguó Guójiā Bówùguǎn) is not a small museum where you simply walk in, take a few photos, and leave.
Located beside Tiananmen Square (天安门广场) in Beijing, the capital of China, this museum tells the long story of Chinese history — from early human civilisation, ancient dynasties, emperors and inventions, all the way to the China we see today.
It is not just another item on a list of Beijing tourist attractions.
For us, it was another chapter in our father-daughter China journey.
But first…
Beijing breakfast. 🍜
Starting The Morning Like Ordinary Beijingers
Before entering the National Museum, Elaine and I walked around the nearby streets looking for something to eat.
This is something I always enjoy during our China travels.
Yes, Beijing has famous landmarks:
- the Forbidden City (故宫)
- the Great Wall of China (长城)
- Tiananmen Square (天安门)
But China is also found in ordinary streets.
Small restaurants.
People going to work.
Families eating breakfast.
The everyday rhythm of life.
Sometimes, understanding a country begins before you even enter the museum.
A Bowl Of Beijing Before 5,000 Years Of History
Our breakfast choice?
A Beijing classic:
炸酱面 (zhá jiàng miàn) — Beijing noodles mixed with soybean paste sauce.
For Elaine, Chinese culture was never only something written inside textbooks.
Since young, she enjoyed discovering China through stories, videos, language, food and travelling.
Dad’s idea was simple:
Don’t just memorise history.
Experience it.
A name on a timeline becomes different when you stand in the place where it happened.
A dynasty becomes more meaningful when you see what people created.
A culture becomes easier to understand when you taste, hear and walk through it.
And after breakfast?
It was time to step into China’s timeline.
Walking Into The National Museum Of China
Standing outside the National Museum of China, the building itself already feels impressive.
The red flags above the museum.
The huge columns.
The crowds slowly entering.
It feels like you are not just entering a building.
You are entering a long story.
A story that began thousands of years ago.
For many visitors travelling to Beijing China, the Forbidden City shows the lives of emperors.
The Great Wall shows the scale and determination of ancient China.
But the National Museum helps answer a bigger question:
How did China become China?
That was the question Elaine and I wanted to explore.
Do Not Try To See Everything — Your Brain Will Surrender First 😄
When Elaine and I walked into the National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆), the first feeling was:
“Wow.”
The second feeling was:
“Uh oh…” 😅
Because this museum is HUGE.
Really huge.
Inside this building beside Tiananmen Square (天安门广场) is a journey covering thousands of years of Chinese history — from ancient humans, early civilisation, bronze culture, emperors, dynasties, inventions, and eventually modern China.
Basically:
China decided to squeeze 5,000 years of homework into one building.
Good luck finishing everything in one afternoon. 😂
That is why Dad had a rule:
Do not try to see everything.
Trying to finish a giant museum is like trying to watch a 100-episode Chinese historical drama in one night.
Possible?
Maybe.
Will your brain remember anything the next morning?
Probably not. 😄
A Lesson I Learned From The British Museum
Actually, I learned this lesson years earlier during my visit to the British Museum in London.
The British Museum is another amazing place where you can easily get lost among thousands of years of world history.
Ancient Egypt.
Greece.
Rome.
Mesopotamia.
Human civilisation everywhere.
My strategy?
I surrendered early. 😂
Instead of rushing through every room taking hundreds of photos I would never understand later, I chose one story:
How early human civilisation began.
So I spent my time with ancient Egypt, early writing systems, and of course, the famous Rosetta Stone.
Because sometimes a museum is not about how many things you see.
It is about how many stories you bring home.
Our Mission In Beijing: Find The Beginning Of China
So when Elaine and I visited the National Museum of China, we followed the same idea.
We were not museum warriors trying to conquer every exhibition hall.
Our mission was simpler:
Find the beginning.
How did China become China?
Before the famous emperors.
Before the Forbidden City (故宫).
Before the Great Wall (长城) became a symbol known around the world.
There were people.
Villages.
Ideas.
Discoveries.
Slowly, generation after generation, a civilisation was born.
🐧 Cheers’ Question:
“Wait Elaine… so before emperors and palaces, people were just trying to figure out farming, tools and everyday life?”
🌱 Elaine:
“Exactly. Dynasties don’t suddenly appear from nowhere. Civilisations grow slowly.”
Walking Into Ancient China (古代中国)
Our first target was the Ancient China (古代中国) exhibition.
This was especially meaningful for Elaine.
Years ago, when she first started exploring Chinese history, she created her own emperor timeline — arranging dynasties, rulers and stories together.
Back then, they were just names:
Qin (秦).
Han (汉).
Tang (唐).
Ming (明).
Qing (清).
But standing here was different.
The timeline was no longer only on a computer screen.
The objects in front of us were created by real people who lived thousands of years ago.
History had become something we could see.
Something we could touch with our imagination.
And the journey started with some of the simplest objects:
Pottery.
Tools.
Bronze vessels.
Things ordinary people used long before China became the civilisation we recognise today.
Meeting The Giant Bronze “Pot” — Wait… Is Cheers Going Inside? 🐧
Walking into the Ancient China (古代中国) exhibition, we finally met one of the biggest stars of the National Museum of China:
Hou Mu Wu Ding (后母戊鼎).
A huge green bronze vessel standing proudly in front of us.
🐧 Cheers immediately became nervous.
“Elaine… why are we looking at a giant cooking pot?”
“And why is it big enough to fit a penguin?”
“Wait… you are not planning to cook me, right?” 😨
🌱 Elaine:
“Cheers… relax. Nobody is cooking penguin soup.” 😂
“And this is NOT a cooking pot.”
This giant bronze object is actually one of China’s greatest ancient treasures.
It came from the Shang Dynasty (商朝), more than 3,000 years ago.
Discovered near Anyang (安阳), Henan Province — close to the ancient Shang capital Yin Xu (殷墟) — the Hou Mu Wu Ding is the largest and heaviest ancient bronze ritual vessel (青铜礼器) ever discovered in China.
It weighs more than 800 kilograms.
🐧 Cheers:
“800 kilograms?!”
“Okay… even if I fell inside, nobody can carry the pot away.” 😌
Why Did Ancient People Make Such A Huge Thing?
🐧 Cheers:
“So Elaine… if it wasn’t for cooking, why make it so big?”
Good question.
Thousands of years ago, Shang people did not create bronze vessels just because they wanted giant decorations.
Bronze vessels (青铜器) were connected to:
- ancestor worship (祭祖)
- rituals (礼)
- royal power
- status
The inscription 后母戊 shows this vessel was created to honour an important royal female ancestor.
🌱 Elaine:
“Think of it like leaving a message across thousands of years.”
🐧 Cheers:
“So ancient people didn’t upload memories to the cloud…”
“They uploaded them into bronze?”
Exactly. 😂
And their “storage device” survived more than 3,000 years.
Wait… Why Is It Green? 🐧
Cheers looked again.
🐧:
“Elaine… one more question.”
“Did Shang people just really like green?”
🌱 Elaine:
“Cheers…”
“It was not originally green.”
😮🐧
The green colour appeared because of oxidation (氧化) over thousands of years.
When it was first made, bronze would have looked much brighter — a shiny metallic bronze colour.
Imagine a Shang ceremony:
🔥 firelight
🥁 ritual music
✨ giant shining bronze vessels
🐧 Cheers:
“Okay… now I understand.”
“Ancient people were not making a big pot.”
“They were making something that said: remember us.”
