Published : 21/11/2025
On 21 November 1984, the China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM), which promotes the scientific and technological achievements of the Chinese nation and popularises modern scientific and technological knowledge, broke ground in Beijing.
Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) and Nie Rongzhen (聶榮臻) wrote inscriptions for the museum, and Yao Yilin (姚依林), Zhou Peiyuan (周培源), and Mao Yisheng (茅以升), the Director of the Museum's Preparatory Committee, among others, also attended the foundation stone laying ceremony.
Preparations for the construction of the CSTM began as early as 1958. At that time, it was known as the "Central Science Museum" and was one of the 10 Great Buildings in the capital for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
However, due to issues such as shortages of funds and materials, and to make way for projects such as the Great Hall of the People, the science museum project was halted.
By 1978, at the National Science Conference held at that time, a group of veteran scientists, including Mao Yisheng and Qian Xuesen (錢學森), once again proposed to the Central Committee the initiative to build a science museum.
With the support of central leaders such as Deng Xiaoping and Fang Yi (方毅), the State Planning Commission approved its construction and established the CSTM Preparatory Committee, with Mao Yisheng as its director, to be responsible for the preparatory work.
In July 1983, the State Planning Commission approved the CSTM as one of the projects of the national 7th Five-Year Plan, to be constructed in two phases.
The first phase of the project had a total construction area of 20,000 square metres and was mainly composed of a comprehensive services building, the Phase I exhibition hall, and a dome screen cinema.
The basic mission of the CSTM is to hold scientific and technological exhibitions that combine science, knowledge, and entertainment, to popularise modern scientific and technological knowledge, and to reflect the latest scientific and technological achievements from at home and abroad.
Following the completion of the first phase of the Science and Technology Museum project, the Central Committee subsequently initiated the construction of the second and third phases.
The second phase was completed on schedule on 17 September 1999, on the eve of the National Day, and was officially opened to the public on 29 April 2000.
Jiang Zemin (江澤民), the then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President of the PRC, wrote an inscription for the new hall of the second phase of the China Science and Technology Museum: "Promote the scientific spirit, popularise scientific knowledge, and disseminate scientific ideas and methods".
On 16 September 2009, the new China Science and Technology Museum, with a total construction area of 102,000 square metres and a total investment of 1.09 billion RMB, was completed and opened in the National Olympic Park.