New York and London needn't fret: Beijing's Natural History Museum isn't going to rival their august institutions any time soon. Not with exhibits that lurch between the silly (juddery animatronic dinos) and the overly scientific (a gallery devoted solely to angiosperms). Collection highlights include a Mamenchisaurus jingyanensis (a 26m-long dino), the skull of a stegadon and plenty of bad taxidermy.

　　The handsome museum building, dating from 1958, has portraits of the great natural historians, including Darwin and Linnaeus, hanging in the foyer. Bring your passport for entry.