China Millennium Monument

Situated between the Military Museum and Yuyuantan Park in Beijing City, China Millennium Monument was built to welcome the 21st century's coming. Facing south, it encompasses an area of about 4.5 hectares (11 acres). China Millennium Monument consists of the Century Altar, the World Art Museum, the Holy Fire Square, the Bronze Thoroughfare and the Century Bell.

As the main building of China Millennium Monument, the Century Altar is composed of the revolving gradient altar platform and the static cloisters. At the center of the gradient altar platform is a small horizontal round platform about 14 meters (15 yards) in diameter, where various kinds of performances can be held. On the exterior wall of the altar platform 56 relief patterns representing 56 peoples in China are carved. Inside the static cloisters 40 bronze statues of Chinese celebrities are housed.

The World Art Museum is located in the Century Altar. Covering an area of about 2 hectares (5 acres), the museum is comprised of the Permanent Exhibition Hall, the Special Exhibition Hall and the Digital Art Gallery. There one can have a clear understanding of the history of world art by appreciating precious artworks from other countries. In addition, tourists can appreciate the immense relief mural in the Great Century Hall. With a height of about five meters (5 yards) and 119 meters (130 yards) in perimeter, this natural colorful mural clearly illustrates 5,000 years' history of China.

Holy Fire Square lies near the south entrance. At the center of the square is the Holy Fire Platform. To the east and west of the square, two springs flow down the stairs, which represent the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. The Holy Fire Square is paved with 960 pieces of granite symbolizing China's 3,710,000 square miles' (9,608,856 square kilometers) territory. At the south entrance stands a white marble tablet engraved with five Chinese characters 'Zhong', 'Hua', 'Shi', 'Ji' and 'Tan' which were written by Jiang Zemin, the former president of People's Republic of China.

Stretching from the Holy Fire Square, the Bronze Thoroughfare is a 274-meter (300-yard) long road built of bronze. The thoroughfare is inscribed with about 180,000 words recording the important historical events and a chronology of Human history.

To the east of the Century Altar there is the Century Bell. It was made by noted political leaders and scholars to celebrate the transfer of sovereignty over Macau in 1999. From then on, people strike the bell on the occasion of New Year countdown. Meanwhile, a colorful giant light beam titled the Light of Beijing is projected to the sky for about 30 minutes at the midnight of Dec. 31 to welcome the New Year.

  By Subway:
Take Subway Line 1 or Line 9 and get off at Junshi Bowuguan (Military Museum) Station. Get out from Exit A of Line 1 or Exit E2 of Line 9, and then walk northward for about five minutes.
 By Bus:
Take bus 65, 78, 85, or 414 and get off at Yuyuantan Nanmen (south gate of Yuyuantan Park) Station, then walk northward to the gate.
Beijing Bus / Subway Search