The China Printing Museum is at 25 Xinghua Beilu, Huangcun Town, Daxing County, Beijing. A specialized science and technology museum, it has been open to the public since June 1, 1996.
The museum is divided into various halls. One contains exhibits of the origins of printing and ancient printing methods, another traces the progress of modern printing, and still another houses new technology and equipment exhibits. The museum also contains three specialized exhibition areas.
All the halls are distributed over three floors, with a total exhibition area of 3,000 square meters. In the reception area stands a statue of Bi Sheng, inventor of movable-type printing.
The hall that traces the origins of printing, including the culture, technology and materials that gave rise to the invention of printing in China, is on the third floor. The ancient printing section in this hall has chronologically ordered exhibits showing the stages of invention and applications of woodblock and movable-type printing, how printing developed, and improvements in its technology and materials, giving viewers an insight into China's long printing history.
The hall of modern printing outlines developments in printing technology in modern times. The first section is devoted to the evolution of four types of printing technology -- relief, planography, intaglio, and stencil printing. The second part is mainly concerned with developments and achievements in printing since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
In the hall of new technology and equipment, which combines exhibits with marketing, are displays of China's new achievements in pre-printing technology, and exhibits of the latest pre-printing, printing, and post-printing equipment and materials. It also gives space to the newest international achievements in printing technologies and current development trends.
The museum has three specialized exhibition areas. The Securities Exhibition Area and the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Exhibition Area contain exhibits that look at the history and current state of printing.
The Selected Samples Room displays various print samples. They include specimens of ancient engraved wood block printing, and extracts from a rare movable-type printed book, as well as examples of contemporary books, albums, and the print used for trade marks and negotiable securities.
There are, in addition, examples of planography, intaglio, stencil, and watercolor block printing, and of package printing, that have won prizes in Asia and internationally. This section also displays reproductions of the works of famous Chinese artists, and of high quality, relief-printed articles.
Further Information:
Address: Beijing Printing Institute, 25 Xinghua Beilu, Huangcun Town, Daxing County, Beijing (Take Bus No. 901 from Gongzhufen and get off at Qingyuan Xili)
Open: 8:00 -- 16:00
Admission: 20 yuan
Tel: 8610-60261237
(China.org.cn May 1, 2005)
