Ticket to the Clocks & Watches Museum inside the Hall of Serving the Ancestors.
The Palace Museum has many exhibitions on site, and the number has been
growing in the Last Few years. With newfound affluence in Beijing, and larger donations from wealthy supporters the Palace Museum has opened several new wings and opened several dedicated exhibitions on new subjects.
Find the "China Ware" - Ceramics at adnex Halls immediatly West of BoaHeDian, the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Enter either adjacent the Right Hind Gate or pass through it and turn left and west. The permanent exhibition of original and famous Ceramic Treasures is inside of here.
The Bronzes Exhibition is found more northernly inside the Courtyard Adnex Halls of the Qian Qing Gong - Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Central Palace in the Inner Court (Nei Ting). It holds the fabulous archeological wealth aquired by the Palace & Museum and gives a very acurate overview of the history of chinese bronze casting. China's was one of the first cultures in human history to achieve this technical feat, and their skills were unprecedented in Time. An impressive and interesting display of artifacts of all times and ages (See our Summary of all Chinese Dynasties) can be viewed upclose.
tradition of high quality bronze casting is equally impressive. Other highlights include the Clocks & Watches Museum at the Hall of Worshipping Ancestors, holding mainly remnants of Qing Dynasty Era imported clockery. There are some of the first chinese made mechanical clocks on display too. They date to the 1800's AD. Hidden away in one of the many palaces of the Inner Court are a multitude of other displays, permanent or just temporary. Among them the cloisonne (clausenet) exhibition, the Jade's exhibition at the Palace of Immortality, the Exhibition on symbolic Back-Scratchers studded with Jewels - a famous gift of the
Military Council during both the Ming and the Qing Dynasties. The Central structure here is the Hall of Military Eminence, Wu Ying Dian, the council Hall with its own white marble access bridge over the Golden River and a ceremonial Gate and Courtyard. Inside is a huge exhibition, so far in Chinese language only. The other exhibitions include an authentic wooden slab Buddhist library, the official one used by the Qing Court. You can have a peak at them yourself in the Eastern annex Hall! (only through glass, not to handle).
Other buildings include the BaoYun Tower and the Yingsi Gong. The Yingsi Gong houses part of the exhibition, but the BaoYun Tower is not open to the Public at the moment.
Detail of Pond Theme Decorations on Cup, Eggshell porcelain, Qianlong Period of Qing Dynasty.
Naturally, the original collections of the Museum are the Ceramics Ware's that China is so Famous for, the Bronzes Exhibition displaying China's long and early
Even newer is the renovated West-Flank of the Palace. Go West immediately after passing through Wu Men and find a new part of the Palace Museum Grounds opened to the Public. Here the Western Gate of Harmony (Xi He Men) gives access to a large swath of Garden Green inside the Palace. This section was not another Palace Garden but in use as the
Hall of Abstinence (Zhai Gong), Eastern Palaces of the Inner Court.
Display window at a temporary exhibition of Clay & Ceramic Statues excavated during archeological digs at several locations in China's Provinces.
Six Colored Cloisonne Long Vase, with Gold Adornments, dated Qing Dynasty.
Part of the Permamanent Exhibitions at the Palace Museum.
View of Jingshan and its Park looking North along the Imperial Cities' Central Axis from ShenWu Men, the Northern Gate of Divine Military Might.
This page was last updated on: June 23, 2017
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Apart from the many ancient buildings and structures within the Forbidden City, one can also view cultural relics and treasures from the Palace Museum's large collection. To begin with,
Qing Dynasty, the Exhibition on Empress-Dowager Cixi, and a few surprises more.
many of the Palaces and Halls of the Outer Palace and Inner Palace are furbished as they used to be when the Palace was still the realm of the Feudal Emperor. See, and often inspect (relatively) up close, many of the decorative artworks with which the Palaces were furbished.
There are decorated vases of various sorts, cloisonne objects, laquared furniture and boxes, jade artificial flowers, snuff bottles and various types of jewelry on display virtually wherever one strides within the Palace.
Other Palace Halls are entirely dedicated to exhibitions with a specific subject or goal.
As a general rule, the cultural relics can mostly be found exhibited in Halls and Pavilions along the middle route and along the western route. Among things, this is where we find the exhibition on the Palace life of last Qing Emperor Xuantong a.ka. Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi including bicycle and spectacles.
True treasures on the other hand, items of crucial National and historic importance, are usually incorporated within a specific exhibition, and these are usually found along the eastern route within the Palace Museum. Thus, most of the bronzes collection, the ceramics collection and items of traditional arts and crafts are found along the eastern palace route.
