The museum, covering Chinese history from the
Yuanmou Man of 1.7 million years ago to the end of the
Qing dynasty (the last
imperial dynasty in Chinese history), has a permanent collection of 1,050,000 items, with many precious and rare artifacts not to be found in museums anywhere else in China or the rest of the world. Among the most important items in the National Museum of China are the "
Houmuwu Ding" from the
Shang dynasty (the heaviest piece of ancient bronzeware in the world, at 832.84 kg), the square shaped Shang dynasty bronze
zun decorated with four sheep heads, The museum has a permanent exhibition called
The Road to Rejuvenation, which presents the recent history of China since the beginning of the
First Opium War, with an emphasis on the history of the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its political achievements. The museum displays the haycutter used by
Kuomintang forces to execute the revolutionary martyr
Liu Hulan. In 1951, Wang Zhaowen created a sculpture of Liu for the museum. Pictures of Deng donning the hat became a famous image of the visit.
Gallery File:Han jade burial suit.JPG|A
Han dynasty jade burial suit laced with gold thread at the National Museum of China File:Colored porcelain.jpg|A pastel pierced porcelain vase, from the
Qianlong era of the
Qing dynasty File:Printing plate for the Ming one string banknote.jpg|Copperplate for printing the Great Ming one string
banknote File:Eastern Han stone carving.jpg|Stone carving from the Eastern Han dynasty, with depiction of a waterside pavilion overlooking a lake full of fish, turtles, and waterfowl File:Tangut burn horses pass.jpg|Bronze two-part pass (paizi) with a four character
Tangut inscription inlaid in silver, from the Western Xia File:Fuhao bat.JPG|A
bronze vessel in the shape of an owl, from the tomb of Lady Fu Hao, from
Shang dynasty, 13th century BC File:Western Han roof tile ends.jpg|Pottery roof tile ends from the Western Han dynasty File:Painted stone relief of a warrior.jpg|Painted stone relief depicting a warrior from the Later
Liang dynasty File:Western Han jade pillow.jpg|A Western Han dynasty jade pillow from the tomb of the Prince of Chu in
Shizishan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province File:Lacquerware-roundbox-w-children.jpg|Red
lacquer box from the Qing dynasty File:鹳鱼石斧图彩绘陶缸08765.jpg|Painted pottery of
Neolithic Yangshao culture, with depiction of a stork catching a fish and a stone axe on the side File:Bronze tallies with gold inscriptions.jpg|Bronze tallies with inscriptions inlaid in gold from the
Warring States period,
Chu State File:Brick relief of two scholars and two maids.jpg|Brick relief depicting two scholars and two maids, from the
Southern dynasties File:Bronze printing plate for an advertisement.jpg|Bronze plate for printing an advertisement for the Liu family needle shop at
Jinan, Song dynasty. The earliest extant example of a commercial advertisement File:Bronze cannon of 1332.jpg|Bronze cannon with inscription dated the 3rd year of the
Zhiyuan Era (1332),
Yuan dynasty File:Guojizibai pan 01.jpg|
Guoji Zibai pan, from
Western Zhou File:利簋.jpg|
Li gui, the earliest
Zhou dynasty bronze vessel to be discovered, and the only epigraphic evidence of the day of the
Zhou conquest of Shang File:HouMuWuDingFullView.jpg|
Houmuwu Ding, the largest piece of bronze work found in the world so far. It was made in the late Shang dynasty at
Anyang File:鹰形陶鼎08726.jpg|Eagle-shaped pottery of neolithic Yangshao culture File:Zhigongtu full.jpg|A Song dynasty copy of the
Portraits of Periodical Offering of Liang, dated to the 6th century, depicting ambassadors from various tributary states File:Jade Dragon, Old.jpg|A Stylized Carving of a
Dragon in Jade, Neolithic,
Hongshan Culture ==Countdown clocks==