Beijing 2024 - National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆) Buddhist Sculpture Exhibition

One of my favourite thing about the museum was their extensive display of Buddhist arts. I guess I've always been told that China is an atheist country. So it's mind blowing how much Buddhist arts they have here. I always that religion was banned in communist China. I love religious art even though I am not religious myself. Yes, I noted the irony of it all. But art is art. And religious art pieces encapsulate the passion or the teaching of the religion in it, and that alone makes it a sort of beauty to me. 

And did I mentioned I love how they display the pieces here in China? For example, this is a hall of Buddhist Sculpture, but when I see the above when I walked in, I felt like I was in a Sci-Fi movie! Walking into a modern lab of old ancient religion being studied here. Isn't that cool? Or is that just disrespectful considering that there is a head of what looked like Goddess of Mercy right there in front? Lol. No disrespect intended, just admiration of the art.

Every exhibit, almost displayed like a specimen. The whole hall illuminated with lab lights :P 

There was a very detailed map of how Buddhist spread through out China in the olden days. With its large terrain and long history, everything is just bigger, older, longer in China somehow. 

There was a corner there looked similar to what I saw in Siem Reap's museum, which is a wall of Buddhist figurine in a temple shaped wall hole. But yes, China made it a lot better than the display in Cambodia. Maybe it was just me, but I appreciated it that all the figurines placed together there were of similar sizes. It irks me when the displayed figures were of random different shaped like they did in Siem Reap, lol. 

Here, looking at this display, my soul is calm :)

There were also bigger figurines, with elaborated carvings. I've never seen so much beauty before. Does one appreciate art pieces more when older? Or when one doesn't have to rush through them like checking off our checklist? Or are things here just displayed better that you could admire things individually and appreciate them better? I recalled I was pretty overwhelmed when I visited the museum of Louvre, Paris. Or even the museums in Scotland. Everything was just overwhelming in Western museums. 

But here in China, pieces were displayed more individually. With space around them so that you have some breathing space. To look at each piece on it's own, instead of it being cluttered with others. Does that make any sense?

I saw this piece above and I instantly thought of Tantra Buddhism. Am I right? Buddhist art is so beautiful in so many ways :)  I wish I could have had more time exploring these.

The lightings were also amazing at this hall, from the brightly lighted specimen type displayed, to the darker corner display of those pieces found in various caves in China.

Simple pieces. So much calm in just looking at these.

The beautiful Goddess just sitting there relaxing as you watch a short clips of all the Caves in China that these Buddhist art pieces were found at. I would love to be able to visit these grotto one day and see these pieces in it's original places. There are many in China, but I needed time and planning to see them all! I guess most are probably at remote areas, and I don't really want to go see them via a tour which always give you limited time to see anything. 

Dear random Buddhist God found here, won't you grant me the wish and capability to make my wishes come true. To visit all those beautiful places in China where you once stand guard over? That would be such a wonderful adventure of my life time :)