Breathing life into relics

Shan Jixiang, director, Palace Museum [Photo provided to China Daily]

"But we won't deliberately create drama for the show or treat the relics lightly," he says. "The show is not going to mislead viewers."

The other eight institutions are all key provincial-level museums: Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, Henan Museum, and Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan and Liaoning provincial museums.

All the museums have their own specialities.

For instance, Nanjing Museum, which is China's first national-level comprehensive museum from the time of Kuomintang rule, has an extensive collection.

The Shaanxi History Museum, which is located in Xi'an, known as the global metropolis Chang'an in ancient times, has relics from the Han (202 BC-220 AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, two peaks in the country's imperial history.

Hubei Provincial Museum is known for its collection from crucial archaeological discoveries. It houses bronze musical instruments like the bianzhong, or chime bells, found in the tomb of high official Marquis Yi of Zeng, dating back 2,500 years.

Shan says that the nine museums have also worked to bring diversity to the national treasures chosen.

Though the list of the 27 treasures remains confidential, there are some clues about the choices.

For instance, there are at least two bronze pieces: the Minfanglei, a wine holder from the Hunan Provincial Museum dating back to the late Shang Dynasty (16th century to 1046 BC), whose body was once lost and then found in the United States, and the Dake Ding from the Shanghai Museum, an item used for ancestor worship in the late Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 to 771 BC).

"If the viewers' response is good we will consider organizing an exhibition at the nine museums to exhibit the 27 items," says Shan.

According to producer Yu, National Treasure will run for more than one season.

And, she also plans to include Chinese artifacts housed in overseas museums in the future seasons.