China's National Museum, to the east of Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing, has reopened to the public after nearly four years of renovations.

As part of the renovations, the museum has been expanded to 191,900 square meters with 49 exhibition rooms, reportedly making it the largest museum in the world.

The museum now holds a collection of more than 1 million pieces of cultural relics, according to the museum's official website.

One of the museum's most valuable collections is Si Muwu bronze quadrate vessel, 1.33 meters high and about 833 kg in weight, dating back to about 3,500 years ago.

A maximum of 8,000 visitors will be allowed in each day, including 7,000 visitors in groups and 1,000 individuals, said a statement on the website.

Group visitors will need to book in advance while individuals can get tickets at the entrance for free.

The museum has planned to host several special exhibitions on Chinese ancient art, such as bronze, porcelain, jade articles, Buddhist statues, furniture of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), ink painting and calligraphy.

The new museum has a theater with 800 seats, a conference hall with 300 seats and a studio with an area of 600 square meters.

In the conference hall, visitors can watch digital films or documentaries.

The museum also has a large space for visitors to experience history and traditional arts through interactive programs.

The museum's renovations started in March 2007 and finished at the end of last year. The entire project cost 2.5 billion yuan (about 367 million U.S. dollars).

Travel tips:

Address: 16 East Chang'an St., the East City District;

Entry ticket: Free

Opening hours: 9:00-17:00; Closed on Monday

Transportation: Bus No. 2, 5, 7, 9, 17, 20, 22, 44, 48, 53, 54, 59, 66, 110, 120, 337, 703, 726, 729, 742, 744, 803, 808, 819, 821, 826, 848, 859, and 922 to the Qianmen bus stop;

Tel: 010-65116400, 65116188

Website: www.chnmuseum.cn/default.aspx

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