Palace Museum shows artifacts in Hong Kong

An expert checks the Set of Bronze Bells with Double-Dragon Knob and Dragon-Cloud Design collection of the Palace Museum, dating from the 52nd year of the Kangxi reign (1713), as crates are opened at the Hong Kong Museum of History.[Photo by Roy Liu / China Daily]

Two major exhibitions of cultural relics reflecting former imperial families' lives will be displayed in Hong Kong as highlights among a series of events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.

According to Shan Jixiang, director of Beijing's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, one exhibition, titled Hall of Mental Cultivation of The Palace Museum: Imperial Residence of Eight Emperors, will open on Wednesday in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and close Oct 15.

Shan said in Hong Kong on Monday, where he was attending a meeting of leaders from top-tier museums, that the exhibition will display about 230 sets of artifacts with a wide range of varieties, including daily-use articles, personal seals and vases, which panoramically show interiors of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Built in 1537 within the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it was the residence of the last eight Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors.