THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CHINA IN BEIJING

The conversion and extension of the National Museum of China forms a link between the former Chinese History Museum and the Chinese Revolutionary Museum. The building completed in 1959, on Tiananmen Square and right next to the Forbidden City, represents a milestone in recent Chinese architectural history. The competition for the conversion and extension of the building was won by the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners, together with the CABR in Beijing. Following discussions with the client, the design was revised in order to ensure that the new building harmonised with the external appearance of the existing building, whilst still making the old and the new distinguishable. This publication presents the German-Chinese cooperation on the largest museum in the world, with extensive details about its history. A preface by Martin Roth, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as illuminating texts by the American cultural journalist András Szántó and photographs by the architecture photographer Christian Gahl, provide a comprehensive portrait of the building.