The Peking University Geological Exhibition Hall, located in the campus of Beijing University, is the earliest museum of geological science in China. It used to be the exhibition room of the Geology Department of Peking University founded in 1909. By 1917, the Peking University Geological Exhibition Hall had collected more than 1,000 items of samples in the fields of paleontology, mineralogy, petrology, and structural geology.

In 1934, the Peking University Geological Exhibition Hall was completed, in which four exhibition rooms were set up, namely the Dynamic Geology Exhibition Room, the Paleontological Stratum Exhibition Room, the Paleobotany Exhibition Room, and the Mineralogy and Petrology Exhibition Room.

In 1952, all the samples in these Exhibition Rooms were moved to the newly founded Beijing Geological Prospecting College (now called the China Geology University in Beijing).

In 1955, the Geological Exhibition Hall was rebuilt in Peking University and started to collect various kinds of geological samples. Its rare samples include the trilobite, Maoming turtle, crystal pyrite cluster, orpiment calcite crystal cluster, stibnite crystal cluster, dolomite crystal cluster and the realgar monocrystal crystal with the weight of 225 grams.

The Peking University Geological Exhibition Hall covers a space of over 600 square meters, displaying ordinary geology, structural geology, paleontology, geological history, mineralogy, petrology, mineral deposit, and the minerals for arts and crafts.

Further Information:

Address: In Peking University

Open: 8:30 -- 11:30; 13:30 -- 17:00

Admission: 3 yuan

Tel: 8610-62756088; 8610-62759116 

Fax: 62751159

Website: http://museum.pku.edu.cn/index.asp

(China.org.cn May 1, 2005)