The stolen Buddha head is displayed at the National Museum of China, the second most visited museum in the world, next only to the Louvre in Paris, France. (Photo : REUTERS)
China’s National Museum is now the second most visited museum in the world, according to statistics published by travel institutions like the Themed Entertainment Association and Die Welt, a German newspaper, China Daily reported.
According to the report, the bucket list of the "Top 20 most popular museums around the world" has listed the Louvre in France, the National Museum of China and National Museum of Natural History in Washington in the top three spots, respectively.
Aside from the National Museum, the other two candidates from China that made the top 20 list include the National Palace Museum in Taipei (10th) and the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum (13th).
With an area of 195,000 square meters, China's National Museum in Beijing is also acknowledged as the biggest museum in the world, according to the list.
The report said that the museums in Europe are still the most visited, with nine of them making the final list, while the U.S. has six in the ranking and Asia has five.
Three cities--London, Washington and Paris--hold the richest number of museum resources with 5, 4 and 3 museums, respectively, on the top 20 most visited museums list.
Located on the east side of Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, the National Museum of China is the largest comprehensive history museum in the country, according to information from the website of www.chinamuseums.com. The museum narrates the history created by the ancestors of the Chinese people through displays and exhibits.
Currently undergoing expansion, the National Museum is built on the twin foundations of the former China History Museum and the former China Revolutionary Museum in 2003.
The new museum has extremely rich collections and exhibits and the depth of its research are second to none, the website said.
The National Museum holds the country's most important historical objects through its History Exhibition, which displays the long history and civilization of the Chinese people. At the same time, the museum conducts education projects, archaeological excavations and scientific researches.
