Discover China

China’s largest automobile museum, Beijing Auto Museum, is currently conducting a two-month trial run, and will be officially opened in May. The museum has close to 50,000 square meters of interior space housing vehicles, parts, books, photos and other displays for visitors to learn about the history of cars. The vehicle collection takes visitors on a drive through time starting in 1885 with a replica of the three wheeled Benz Motorwagen, to the past Hongqi limousines, Shanghai sedans and Beijing Jeeps. Find out more in the CNTV Culture Express story Auto museum on trial run in southwest Beijing.

Spring is coming. It’s the time to refresh and feel the new energy of nature. See the CNTV Travel story Top 10 places to feel spring in Beijing to find out about some great places to enjoy the warmer temperatures.

The 28th Luoyang Peony Festival is set to be held in Luoyang City in central China’s Henan Province from 1 April to 5 May 2010. The peony is a traditional flora symbol of China, with very beautiful color and fragrance, and during the festival Luoyang will be turned into a sea of flowers. Read more in the Confucius Institute Online article Luoyang Peony Festival Opens Next Month.

While in Luoyang make sure to visit the extraordinary World Heritage listed Longmen Grottoes, and the White Horse Temple which is described as the cradle of Buddhism in China. I had the pleasure of visiting both on my trip to Henan Province in 2008. These are among the many cultural and natural attractions of China’s Henan Province – to find out more visit the Henan Province Tourism Administration’s “Amazing Henan” website.

Jiangnan, Xishuangbanna and Jiuzhaigou Valley are great places to enjoy China’s spring beauty and culture – find out more in the Shenzhen Daily article Green getaways in spring.

The National Museum of China, located to the east of Tian’anmen Square in central Beijing, has been closed for almost four years while a major expansion and renovation has taken place. It is now ready for its grand reopening day on 27 March. The museum has nearly tripled in size from 65,000 square meters to almost 200,000 square meters, making it the world’s largest museum. After already visiting two outstanding museums in China – the Shenzhen Museum and Henan Museum – I can’t wait to visit the National Museum on a future trip to China. It will undoubtedly be an outstanding experience, and probably require two or three days to take in such a great range of exhibits. Find out more in the CNTV Culture Express stories National Museum of China reopens, Inside the China’s National Museum and A centennial history of the National Museum of China.