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Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures

Columbian College of Arts & Sciences

NACCL-38 Recommended Activities

If you are looking for something to do when you are not conferencing in Washington, DC. You may consider the following activities.

  1. George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, which is located on campus, about 10-15" walking distance. The museum features textile exhibits from different countries, including many from China.

  2. Library of Congress, especially the Asian Reading Room's Chinese language collections.

    If you would like to visit the library individually before or after the conference or during any spare time, it is a short metro ride from the conference venue. If you want to visit reading rooms (i.e. not just the building and hallways), such as the Asian Reading Room, you would need to process a reader's card. You can save time onsite by completing pre-registration online in advance here.

    The Asian Division has two Chinese librarians; at least one of them is typically onsite from Monday to Thursday, and they can answer questions or provide guidance in person on those days. You can also ask questions remotely any day via Ask a Librarian. If you wish to view particular collection items, please place a request via Ask a Librarian several days in advance for conventional monographs or serials (some are shipped from offsite, which can take a couple of days), or at least one week in advance for any rare or special items.

  3. National Museum of Asian Art, especially the Chinese Collection. 

    According to information on the museum's website, "With more than thirteen thousand objects dating from Neolithic times (circa 7000–circa 2000 BCE) to the present, the National Museum of Asian Art’s collections possess one of the finest museum holdings of Chinese art in the world. In addition to containing numerous masterworks, the collections reflect all major periods and materials of artistic production. Special strengths include remarkable ancient jades and bronzes, early Buddhist sculpture, imperial and trade ceramics, lacquer, classical paintings, and calligraphy, all of which are among the greatest treasures of Chinese art outside of China."