The Overseas Chinese Museum is the first cultural and exhibition institution in China that is funded by overseas Chinese. [Photo/Overseas Chinese Museum]
Plans for the Overseas Chinese Museum were initiated in 1956 by famous overseas Chinese businessman and philanthropist Tan Kah Kee, also known as Chen Jiageng, and the museum was opened in 1959. It is the first cultural and exhibition institution in China that is funded by overseas Chinese.
华侨博物院是由著名爱国华侨领袖陈嘉庚先生于1956年倡办，1959年落成开放，这是我国第一座由华侨集资兴建的文博机构。
It is not only China's first museum that systematically collects, studies, and displays the history and achievements of overseas Chinese, but is also a comprehensive museum that houses ancient cultural relics and natural specimens.
它既是中国第一家全面系统收集、研究、展示华侨华人历史和业绩的博物馆，也是包括有古代文物展、自然标本展的综合性博物馆。
It is a national-level patriotic and social science education center, a national defense education base of Xiamen, as well as a national center for overseas Chinese international cultural exchange. It was also included in the first list of Xiamen's travel routes of revolutionary culture.
它是全国爱国主义教育示范基地和社会科学普及基地，第六批“中国华侨国际文化交流基地”，厦门市国防教育基地，是厦门市第一批红色文化经典线路之一及党史学习教育厦门市首批参观学习点。
The building features a traditional Chinese palace design, which is decorated with white granite slabs and green glazed tiles. It covers an area of 12,500 square meters.
馆舍是一座富有浓郁中国民族风格的重檐式宫殿建筑，楼身由洁白花岗岩砌成，屋檐以翠绿琉璃瓦铺饰，斗拱玲珑，飞檐凌空，古色古香，雄伟壮观。全院占地面积12500 平方米。
The museum is home to more than 6,000 cultural relics, including bronzeware, Chinese ceramics, ancient coins, ancient calligraphy and paintings, ancient carving crafts, foreign ceramics and glassware, as well as bird, animal, fish, and mineral specimens. Among them, there are nine national first-class cultural relics, as well as 14 calligraphy and painting works that were included in the Zhong Guo Gu Dai Shu Hua Mu Lu (Catalogue of Ancient Chinese Calligraphy and Painting).
馆藏文物6000多件，包括历代青铜器、陶瓷器、古钱币、古字画、古代雕刻工艺品、外国陶瓷玻璃器皿，以及鸟类、兽类、鱼类、矿物标本等，其中陶瓷器有9件国家一级文物，有14件字画收入《中国古代书画目录》。
In addition, there are more than 3,000 historical relics, physical objects, and a large number of documents about overseas Chinese, as well as more than 20,000 photos, films, genealogies, and audio-video materials about overseas Chinese history.
另有3000多件侨史文物、实物和大量侨史资料以及2万余张侨史照片、底片和部分族谱、音像资料等。
Three exhibitions respectively featuring overseas Chinese, cultural relics collected by Tan Kah Kee, as well as birds and animal specimens are open to the public free of charge throughout the year.
现有《华侨华人》、《陈嘉庚珍藏文物展》、《自然馆》三个基本陈列常年对外免费开放。
Add: No 493 Simingnan Road, Xiamen, Fujian province
地址:福建省厦门市思明南路493号
