Effigies of Chinese musicians Xian Yan (left), Nie Er (middle) and Tian Han. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The National Museum of China's wax gallery was officially opened to the public on Friday.

On display are the effigies of 34 culturally important personas of 20th century in China whose wax models are now installed at the museum's south wing.

Featured figures include noted Chinese novelist and dramatist Lao She (1899-1966), Peking Opera guru Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) and master painter Pan Tianshou (1897-1971), among others.

The gallery was opened for a preview on May 24 and has since then received 500,000 visitors.

The NMC launched the wax gallery project in tribute to modern Chinese intellectuals whose achievement has influenced generations of people. The final lineup teams up celebrities from three areas — studies of Chinese cultural traditions, literature and arts — starting since the New Culture Movement in the 1910s and ’20s.