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TheCultural Palace of Nationalities (Chinese:民族文化宫) is located inBeijing'sXicheng District, on WestChang'an Avenue. Built in September 1959, it is one of theTen Great Buildings and was registered as the first of 55 museums in the city. The building houses a museum, an art gallery, a library, an art institute, a theater, a guesthouse, and other facilities. It is under the administration of theState Ethnic Affairs Commission of theUnited Front Work Department.[1][additional citation(s) needed]
The Cultural Palace of Nationalities was built by the master of contemporary Chinese architectureZhang Bo [zh] (1911–1999), whose well-known works include theGreat Hall,Beijing Hotel,Friendship Hotel [zh], andDiaoyutai State Guesthouse. It covers 32,000 m2. The main building has 13 floors and is 67 meters high. The east and west sides are surrounded by wings, with a central exhibition hall extending north. The exterior is predominantly white, with peacock-blue glazed tile roof eaves. Characters over its entrance spell "unity" (tuanjie) and "progress" (jinbu).[1][2][additional citation(s) needed]
The mission of the Culture Palace is to serve and educate the variousminority cultures of the country. Its collection includes over 60 million literature and science text books, the basic display for the "Chinese Traditional Culture Series" exhibition, and theater performances. In recent years, the building also provides exhibition space to other types of exhibitions organized.
In 1979, the National Palace Museum changed its name to the National Palace Hall. The museum's collection contains cultural relics of ethnic minorities in China to promote minority cultures. Large collections of arts and crafts, costumes, musical instruments, and religious articles show the culture of the Chinese of all ethnic groups, and witness the historical development of all ethnic groups.
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