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Forbidden City residences of empresses and concubines to be opened to public

By Li Qian | December 9, 2013, Monday | Online Edition

THE residences of female members of China’s imperial court during the Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368-1911), including empresses and imperial concubines, will be open to the public for the first time at Beijing’s Forbidden City, now called the Palace Museum, said the museum curator.

No specific date was set, but the opening is planned in the wake of the repair of historical relics, after the museum completes installation of security facilities and arrangement of the exhibitions, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

The western area of the Forbidden City became the location where women such as the imperial concubines lived. It includes many gardens and a Buddhist temple hall.

The Cining Gong, Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, which was the  residence of several empresses, will be used to display sculptures.

The nearby Shoukang Gong, Palace of Longevity and Good Health, was used by the mother of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. It will be restored to its original look to show what imperial life was like.

By the year of 2020 — the 600th birthday of the Forbidden City — 76 percent of the total area will be open to the public, said Shan Jixiang, the museum curator. Now it is at 52 percent.

In 2012, the Palace Museum became the only museum in the world to be visited by more than 10 million visitors annually, Shan said, adding that the amount of visitors hit a record high of up to 182,000 for a single day during last year’s National Day holiday.

Shan said the museum plans to close every Monday to permit better maintenance. At that time, the annual number of visitors is expected to drop to 14 million.

The museum was established in 1925.

Nation


 

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