Watermelon Museum in Beijing, China

Watermelon Museum is a bizarre place, dedicated to watermelons, which also looks like one from the top. It is located south of Beijing in Daxing Disctrict, and provides a great opportunity for the curious travelers to learn more about watermelons. This is a modern museum, exhibiting more than 170 different kinds of watermelons and telling visitors everything there is to know about this juicy fruit. There is a good reason behind the creation of this museum – for once, a watermelon is one of the most favorite fruits of China, and besides that, the Panggezhuang Township near Beijing City is considered to be the world’s largest region producing watermelons.

The vast 4000 m² of displays will let you learn everything about watermelons -; apart from the old fairy tales about watermelons, there are numerous paintings of people eating watermelons, books and comics about watermelons, futuristic works of sculpture, the famous watermelon models and their seeds, which were tested in space and so on. Strolling along well-laid-out halls it is possible to see watermelons of various shapes, sizes and colors found either in China or around the world as well. Don’t be afraid of any rotting watermelon smell inside the building. All items are made of wax.

Although most exhibits have no English translation, the museum is still worth a visit. Outside of the museum building there is a so called “Sculpture Park”. This is where you can also see bizarre sculptures dedicated to watermelon eating.. Some of them are quite interesting. You can also rest next to the hog-headed creature on the grass and eat some watermelon as well.

The Watermelon Museum in Beijing hosts festivals, dedicated to - you guessed it - watermelons. Festival activities usually include presentations on watermelon breeding, growing and folk art exhibits. Located in the Watermelon Research Institute, such festivals let their guests taste, pick and buy their own watermelons to eat at home.