Fung Ming-Chu, director of Taipei's National Palace Museum, visits the Beijing Palace Museum's branch at the Olympic Park Observation Tower on Aug. 11, 2015. (Photo : Xinhua)
With preparations for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in full swing, the Palace Museum has unveiled a new exhibition hall in the Olympic Park Observation Tower on Tuesday that will feature collections from China’s royal past.
"Wuxing," or the five-element theory of traditional Chinese, guides the theme for the exhibit hall, Palace Museum director Shan Jixiang told China Daily on Wednesday.
Highlighted collections including gold and silver wares (representing gold), furniture (wood), jade (water), bronze (fire) and porcelain items (earth) will be displayed, one element per year, until 2020.
The opening exhibit features 202 pieces of gold and silver items, such as antique clocks, Buddhist statues and jewelry. Daily-use articles, such as antique golden Sichuan kitchenware, were also included.
"An institution combining traditional Chinese culture and people's modern lifestyles is the best way to prolong the Olympic spirit," said Sun Qijun, deputy director of Beijing's Chaoyang District government, at the opening ceremony. "It will bring a new cultural landmark to Beijing."
Also known as the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum served as China's royal palace from 1420 to 1911. It currently houses 1.8 million cultural artifacts, but only a fraction of those can be shown to the public due to concerns over protecting the ancient relics, Shan said.
The 700-square-meter observation tower is the first permanent exhibit outside of the Palace Museum.
"The new exhibition hall thus becomes an important complement," Shan said. "And the displayed articles this time are all highlighted collections, which are difficult to simultaneously show to the public in the old palace."
While the Forbidden City draws in around 15 million visitors, the Olympic Park receives 30 million visitors per year, so its choice for the new exhibit will create a lasting cultural legacy, he added.
Among the featured amenities include a 167-square-meter cinema screening high-definition documentaries about the Forbidden City and a souvenir shop offering nearly 7,000 commemorative items.
The exhibit is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket to the observation tower costs 70 yuan ($11); no extra ticket is required to enter the exhibition hall.
