Beijing Art  Museum occupies part of Wanshou Si (the Temple of Longevity), by the northern section of the West Third Ring Road. The temple was originally built in 1577, during the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, and was declared as one of the city's key cultural heritage sites in August 1979 by Beijing municipal government. 

The museum's collections mainly focus on painting, calligraphy, porcelain, weaving and embroidery of the Ming and Qing dynasties, ancient coins of China and foreign countries and modern Chinese and Japanese painting and arts and crafts.

The exhibition in the museum is arranged into three sections: Buddhist art of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Porcelain art of the Ming and Qing dynasties and Arts and Crafts of the Ming and Qing dynasties.