"Canal Boat" becomes my country's largest earthquake-isolated museum, Beijing Grand Canal Museum opens today

After four years of construction, the Beijing Grand Canal Museum, located in the sub-center of Beijing, officially opened to the public today.

As one of the “three major buildings” in the sub-center of Beijing, what is unique about the design of the Grand Canal Museum? What are the highlights of the exhibition? How to protect the safety of cultural relics? As it opens to the public starting today, this long-awaited building has finally unveiled its mystery.

The museum has a total construction area of ​​approximately 99,700 square meters, consisting of a shared hall with a ship-shaped roof on the north side, an exhibition building with a sail-shaped roof on the south side, and a 270-meter-long leisure water street between the two buildings. The design of boats, sails and water makes the museum look like a "canal boat".

The separate design of the two buildings also brings a better viewing experience to the audience. "The audience will complete the relatively complicated process of storage, ticketing, security check, etc. from the oval entrance on the west side, and then enter the relatively quiet shared hall. The shared hall is a space for museum exhibition interpretation and various cultural activities. The audience will then proceed from here. "The progressive acoustic design allows the audience to better immerse themselves in the exhibition and feel the charm of the museum."

At the same time, the museum also creates different spaces for audiences with different needs. "The shared hall can be opened at more flexible times such as at night, ensuring the safety of cultural relics while providing more cultural and leisure experience space for the audience." Zhang Yu said, "The shared hall also has many cultural and creative spaces, and these cultural and creative spaces are all An independent entrance and exit has been set up so that the museum can be open to the public even when it is closed.”

The Jin Dynasty epitaph that first appeared the word "Tongzhou" is on display

In terms of exhibitions, focusing on the close and complementary relationship between the Grand Canal and Beijing, the museum will present four major types of exhibitions: basic exhibitions, special exhibitions, open exhibitions, and temporary exhibitions.

The basic display "Beijing Tonghui Canal Yongji - Beijing and Grand Canal History and Culture Exhibition" is located on the second floor of the exhibition building. Through eight parts with more than 1,000 cultural relics and artworks, it vividly restores the development and evolution history of the Grand Canal with time as the axis. , focusing on showing the close relationship between the Grand Canal and Beijing, and systematically displaying the connotation of humanistic and historical value along the canal.

"In terms of historical value, one of the highlights is the exhibition of the epitaph of Shi Zongbi, the general of Xuanwei in the Jin Dynasty. The epitaph records that Shi Zongbi was buried in 'Taitou Village, Lu County, Tongzhou'. The word 'Tongzhou' clearly appears for the first time, and it is the earliest physical object at present. Witness." Tan Xiaoling, deputy director of the Capital Museum, said, "In terms of artistic value, the large number of Jiangnan cultural relics that came through the Grand Canal are very exquisite."

In addition, two thematic exhibitions "Beijing Grand Canal Rover Picture Scroll" and "More than the Canal - Immersive Experience Exhibition" and two temporary exhibitions "Excellent Exhibition of Flower and Bird Paintings from the Beijing Art Academy" and "Beijing Urban Sub-center Construction and Development Image Exhibition" are open simultaneously. .

In order to protect the safety of cultural relics, the Beijing Grand Canal Museum has set up a 620-meter-long seismic isolation ditch around the exhibition building, and a 18,000-square-meter seismic isolation layer below the underground floor. It is the largest seismic isolation museum in my country. The one with the largest projected area in the region.

In the corner of the first floor of the exhibition building, the museum has reserved two square glass windows on the ground and wall as a "museum earthquake prevention science exhibition", allowing the audience to see with their own eyes the earthquake isolation supports under the building and the spaces between the buildings. seismic isolation ditch.

"There are 242 seismic isolation bearings in the seismic isolation layer of the entire building. Among them, there are 197 lead-core laminated steel plate rubber bearings, 39 ordinary laminated steel plate rubber bearings, and 6 skateboard bearings. They will complete the entire building. The lifting of the museum blocks the propagation path of seismic waves and greatly improves the safety of collections, personnel, and venue buildings,” said Zhao Yazhuo, curator of the exhibition department of the Capital Museum. Waterproofing and moisture-proofing the warehouse also helps a lot.”

After opening, the Beijing Grand Canal Museum will launch four major themed activities.

The "Sound of the Canal" folk art show invites time-honored specialty shops in Beijing and related cultural groups to showcase intangible cultural heritage items such as juggling, storytelling and singing in traditional markets. "Canal Star" Creative Exchange will host the 2023 Beijing Curators Conference and the 2023 Beijing Cultural Museum Creative Design Competition. The "Drama on the Canal" performance week invites China Coal Mine Art Troupe and intangible cultural heritage performance groups along the Grand Canal to present traditional arts such as folk songs, folk arts, operas, etc. that will be born along with and prospered by the river. "A Date on the Canal" to benefit the people will also be held at the Grand Canal Museum in Beijing as the main venue, and 12 museums including Tongzhou District Museum, Beijing Han Meilin Art Museum, and Beijing Xiang Sports Museum as branch venues, launching a series of exciting cultural activities to benefit the people. .

According to reports, after its opening, the Capital Museum will successively launch exhibitions such as the "Exhibition of Ancient Color-Glazed Porcelain Collection in the Palace Museum", "Exhibition of Cultural Relics Collection in the Beijing Cultural Relics Exchange Center", and "Thematic Exhibition on the Coordinated Development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei", and organize the Grand Canal Cultural Academic For seminars and other activities, display spaces such as 4D cinemas and visualization warehouses will be opened to the public.

The Beijing Grand Canal Museum will provide extended opening services from 10:00 to 20:00. It will be closed on Mondays and visitors can visit for free without reservation.