The Museums of Beijing

If you plan to visit all the museums in Beijing then you are setting yourself a large goal ;) However one word of warning - most of the museums are shut on Mondays!! I spent a long time walking around before, after the third museum, I worked this out for myself…
Some of the museums are within walking distance of each other while some are to be found along the subway network - those doable in one day of walking include the three that I have selected as interesting spectacles:
The Police museum (Entry 5y) is a three story building only a little way from Tiananmen Square and houses some very interesting documents and materials from criminal ventures and police detective work - the lie detector takes pride of place on one floor while a discomforting look into a solitary confinement cell (only just big enough to stand upright in) stands in one corner of another. Other exhibits include artefacts from martyrs to the course and weapons and uniforms used by the police over the ages. Some of the most interesting weapons included the infamous “Lighter pistol”, “Lipstick gun” and a tiny miniature pistol no bigger than a ‘dime’!
The city hall of planning (entry 30y) is a real eye opener and once again a lesson for the architects of London - it houses many interesting and interactive exhibits including a whole floor plan of the city (Most of which is a model while the rest is satellite imagery) which can be looked down on using special binoculars which then provide information digitally while you scan in different languages!! Amazing. There are a range of models and 3D displays which all have interactive elements there is even a video explaining the future plans of re-generation of the Houtongs (A controversial topic in planning). Effectively this means clearing areas of the single story buildings and replacing them with modern blocks are modern Houtongs (to support the tourist industry) - Having walked among the old Houtongs I can only describe the changes as sterilising the past. However, there has always got to be progress in a growing city and this will provide better conditions and jobs into the future…
The final museum of my visit was the natural history museum (Free), which houses some memorable exhibits including the dinosaur hall (With lifelike representations of the beasts - looking a little worse for ware), a human body floor (With some explicit human organs including 9 babies from each month of development in jars) and finally a well thought out mammals hall with animals portrayed in as natural a set of surroundings as possible in the space provided - you got to walk amongst the scenes and this made the museum come to life rather than just having what is the standard set up of glass cabinets. The museum was undergoing a face lift while I was there so maybe on my return it will have ironed out the crinkles ;)