-- A brief introduction to Palace Museum

Established on the basis of imperial palaces and their collections in the Ming-Qing Period, the Palace Museum is a comprehensive state-level museum containing mainly court history, court architecture and court cultural relics.

The construction of Ming Dynasty imperial palace was first started in 1406 and completed in 1420. To date it has already a history of 580 years passing through 14 reigns of Ming Dynasty and 10 reigns of Qing emperors. It is the largest existing brick-and-wood court architectures well preserved in the world.

The Palace Museum was built in 1924, officially established and opened to the public on October 10th, 1925. Currently it has a collection of 930,000 pieces/sets of cultural relics, accounting for 10% of the nation's total. In 1961, it was listed as a key cultural relics unit under state protection. In 1987, it was included in the List of world cultural heritage as approved by UNESCO.

To mark 30th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and to beef up cultural exchanges between the two countries, the museum, at the invitation of Japan's Japan-China Art Association, went to Japan to hold Peking Palace Museum Treasured Rarities Show from March 2002 to February 2003, displaying 120 pieces/sets of cultural relics.

-- Time and Venue:

1st Exhibition Site: Fukushima cultural center (2002.3.15~4.21) sponsored by Fukushima People's News Press

2nd Exhibition Site: Matsumoto municipal museum (2002.4.27~5.26) sponsored by Shinano Daily News Press

3rd Exhibition Site: Maebashi Guild Hall (2002.6.8~7.7) sponsored by Ageo News Press

4th Exhibition Site: Yamagata Art Gallery (2002.7.19~8.18) sponsored by Yamagata News Press

5th Exhibition Site: Nihonbashi Takashimaya Art Gallery (2002.8.21~9.2) sponsored by Nihonbashi Takashimaya

6th Exhibition Site: Asian Pacific Trade Center (2002.9.14~10.27) sponsored by Daily News Press and ATC Art Gallery

7th Exhibition Site: Iwate People's Guild (2003.1.9~2.9) Iwate Daily Press

The exhibition is a grand comprehensive one. Historically it covers all dynasties from Shang and Zhou down to Ming and Qing periods; categorically it includes a large variety of court ornaments, dress, paintings, color pottery, bronze wares, chinaware, jade articles, four treasures of the study (writing-brush, ink, paper and ink-slab) and religious articles; and judging by material used there are pearls, precious stones, silks, fabrics, sandal wood, green bamboo, gold, silver, and bronze wares. Each article can be deemed as essence of ancient Chinese art products and rarity in China's art treasure house.