Xinhua Headlines: From Forbidden City to people's museum, Palace Museum witnesses changing China

Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-12 14:27:32|Editor: Liangyu
Video PlayerClose

Xinhua Headlines: From Forbidden City to people's museum, Palace Museum witnesses changing China

Photo taken on Feb. 19, 2019 shows the night scenery at Wumen Gate of the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- When Reginald Johnston, a British scholar, first walked into the Forbidden City in the spring of 1919, the vast walled enclosure in the heart of Beijing was "in the strictest sense 'forbidden' to all the world except those who had the entree."

Now it holds the world's busiest museum, receiving more than 17 million visitors every year.

In his memoir "Twilight in the Forbidden City," Johnston describes a world of turmoil, disruption, banditry, famine and civil war.

A century later when the People's Republic of China is to celebrate its 70th founding anniversary in October, the 599-year-old palace complex flourishes in the world's second-largest economy and one of the largest tourist markets.

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

"All buildings in Beijing, official and private, were low, except for the Forbidden City guarded by high walls and a wide moat," said Li Wenru, former vice curator of the Palace Museum, depicting the old imperial capital. "From outside the walls with a glimpse of the golden roof, ordinary people could only imagine what it looked like inside."

The public had their first view of the interior of the palaces in 1925 when the Palace Museum was established.

The following years saw the museum struggling through tight budgets, political controversy and war threats. During the war against Japanese invasion, it was forced to send away and hide a large number of collections.

In the spring of 1949, a critical moment made history at the Palace Museum. With the city of Beijing, then called Beiping, liberated peacefully, it was taken over by the People's Liberation Army without a scratch, a few months before Chairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the People's Republic of China on the Tian'anmen Rostrum.

"In the past seven decades, China has developed into a modern nation with a strong sense of mission," said Wu Shizhou, a historian and professor with the graduate school of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "It was in these years that the Palace Museum finally grew out of hardship and unrest and entered a new stage."

With continuous support from the government, the Palace Museum has upgraded storage, conducted thorough examinations of its collections and launched large-scale restorations of ancient buildings, with conservation institutions established and research advancing.

In the past few years, the museum has expanded the existing exhibition space and built new facilities so that more of its 1.86 million collections could be seen by visitors.

"The museum has tried to stay relevant to contemporary visitors in every detail," said Ren Wanping, vice curator of the museum.

Exhibitions are carefully organized to attract and resonate with the general public, instead of being too academic. Rarely used old characters are avoided in text introductions, while free audio guides and multimedia adopted to improve the visitor experience.

The public now has access to 80 percent of the total area of the museum and it will increase to 85 percent in 2025.

Zhang Jianhua, a 56-year-old retired Beijing resident and amateur photographer, paid 10 visits to the Palace Museum last year.

"I might visit more this year," she said. "The palaces and halls are in better shape than years ago and look prettier in pictures."

More chairs to rest in and places to eat within the walls also made her trips more comfortable. "Now I can spend the whole day inside, carrying only my camera and lenses," she said.

"The museum upholds the people-first concept," Ren said, referring to a number of new service facilities installed in recent years, such as cafes, bookshops, souvenir shops, bigger toilets and baby care rooms.

EMBRACING THE WORLD

When Christopher Allen from Britain paid his first visit to the Palace Museum in 2008, he was overwhelmed.

"It felt like you were hit by hundreds of years of history," he said. "With so much to see, one visit is not enough."

Since then, the Beijing-based English teacher has paid more visits to the museum and grown to love its history and culture.

"The Forbidden City is becoming more open and friendly to visitors," he said.

As the world's largest and best preserved wooden palace complex, the Palace Museum attracted about 3.5 million visitors from abroad last year.

The museum also sends its exhibitions overseas.

More than 200 exhibitions and cultural events have been held by the museum in over 30 countries and regions, attracting over 100 million visitors as of now. Nine overseas exhibitions were held in 2018.

"The Palace Museum exhibition becomes a cultural phenomenon everywhere it goes," said former curator Shan Jixiang. "It plays an irreplaceable role in promoting Chinese culture."

ATTRACTING THE YOUTH

On the Palace Museum's online store on Taobao, China's largest e-commerce platform, the formidable emperors in history are given a cute and humorous spin. Products bearing their images and elements sell like hot cakes with tens of thousands of positive customer reviews.

The museum now boasts more than 10,000 cultural products ranging from paintings and power banks to lipsticks.

The popularity also goes offline. In the Corner Tower Cafe outside the museum's Gate of Divine Prowess, the "Kangxi Emperor's Favorite Chocolate," the most popular drink, always has people lining up to get a taste.

"There was a long queue last time I came, so I had to give up," said Beijing resident Xu Jing, who managed to nab a cup on her second visit to the cafe.

About 40 percent of the museum's total visitors last year were under the age of 30, and 24 percent were in their 30s.

After the screening of the "Masters in the Forbidden City," a 2016 documentary series about the museum's relics restoration teams, these technicians have become pop cultural icons and the museum received over 10,000 job applications.

As a child, Xu Jing often rode bicycles on the square in front of the Meridian Gate, the museum's front gate.

"I had little memory of the museum behind the gate then, but now I feel an urge to visit it after watching several popular variety shows about the museum on TV," she said.

   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next  

KEY WORDS:
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001380524691
乐发彩票中心 大发app 凤凰彩票app 乐发iv游戏平台 凤凰彩票大厅 乐发彩票 乐发彩票app下载 大发彩票 乐发v官网 乐发lll 乐发lv入口 乐发iv首页 乐发ll登录 凤凰彩票大厅 乐发官网 乐发ii下载入口 乐发ll 乐发v平台 乐发v官网 乐发lll 乐发lv入口 乐发iv首页 乐发ll登录 乐发lv 乐发lll安装 乐发lv 乐发登录入口 乐发iv游戏平台 凤凰彩票登录 网信彩票 彩神 彩神彩票官方网站 彩神彩票官网首页 彩神官方app下载安卓版 凤凰彩票登录 彩神v3 凤凰彩票app下载 彩神官方app下载安卓版 网信快三 一分快3 快三彩票购彩平台 凤凰彩票官方 快3官网 网信彩票 快3app 网信彩票平台 百姓彩票平台 网信平台官网 快3app下载 百姓彩票 每日彩票 快3app 百姓彩票 每日彩票 快3app 百姓彩票平台 幸运5分彩快3 快3彩票app下载 百姓彩票网站网址 大发10分PK10 快3下载 网信彩票平台 网信平台官网 快3彩票官网app 凤凰彩票官方 彩神彩票 大发10分PK10 彩神v3 大发彩票app下载 百姓彩票网站网址 彩神购彩平台 每日彩票 官方正规快三彩票平台 彩神彩票购彩平台 百姓彩票 凤凰彩票购彩平台 凤凰彩票app下载 彩神官方app下载安卓版 网信快三 一分快3 快三彩票购彩平台 凤凰彩票官方 彩神彩票 大发10分PK10 彩神v3 凤凰彩票登录 乐发lv 乐发∨Il 百姓彩票网站网址 乐发彩票 乐发彩票官方网站 乐发lll安装 百姓彩票网站网址 凤凰彩票app下载 大发10分PK10 乐发2 乐发app 凤凰彩票 大发彩票app 乐发登录入口 乐发ll登录 乐发v官网 乐发官网 大发彩票app下载 凤凰彩票购彩平台 彩神彩票 官方正规快三彩票平台 一分快3 百姓彩票网站网址 凤凰彩票app下载 大发10分PK10 乐发2 乐发app 凤凰彩票 大发彩票app 乐发登录入口 乐发ll登录 乐发v官网 乐发官网 大发彩票app下载 凤凰彩票购彩平台 彩神彩票 官方正规快三彩票平台 1分快三平台 百姓彩票平台 凤凰彩票登录 幸运5分彩快3 彩神 乐发彩票 乐发 大发彩票 乐发iv游戏平台 乐发lv 乐发lll 乐发ii下载入口 乐发彩票官方网站 凤凰彩票官方网站 凤凰快3 彩神彩票官网首页 1分快三平台 百姓彩票平台 凤凰彩票登录 幸运5分彩快3 彩神 乐发彩票 乐发 大发彩票 乐发iv游戏平台 乐发lv 凤凰彩票app 乐发app 网信彩票平台 网信彩票平台 乐发iv游戏平台 凤凰彩票app 乐发lv 乐发彩票app下载 凤凰彩票app 网信彩票平台 乐发彩票app下载 乐发lv 乐发app 大发彩票安卓下载 大发彩票安卓下载 大发彩票 乐发彩票app下载 网信彩票平台 乐发iv游戏平台 彩神彩票 乐发彩票中心 极速快3彩票平台 人人快三凤凰 大发彩票app 大发彩票大全 乐发彩票 彩神彩票官方网站 乐发app 酷天堂彩票平台 凤凰彩票app下载 凤凰彩票大厅 凤凰彩票app 极速快3彩票平台 凤凰彩票 凤凰快3 乐发ll官网 乐发彩票中心 正规快三送彩金平台 凤凰彩票官方 乐发ll 乐发 网信彩票 彩神彩票 彩神彩票官方网站 大发彩票app 网信彩票用户 百姓快三 百姓彩票平台 乐发lv 乐发彩票app下载 彩信平台 网信彩票 乐发彩票官方网站 乐发∨Il 人人快三凤凰 凤凰彩票 凤凰快3 乐发ll官网 乐发彩票中心 正规快三送彩金平台 凤凰彩票官方 乐发ll 乐发 网信彩票 彩神彩票 彩神彩票官方网站 人人快三凤凰 乐发彩票 彩神彩票 乐发iv游戏平台 乐发彩票 大发彩票中心 凤凰彩票登录 凤凰彩票app 彩神彩票 大发彩票 乐发ll 大发彩票app 凤凰快3 凤凰彩票 彩神彩票 乐发ll 凤凰彩票 乐发lll 凤凰彩票大厅 网信彩票 彩神彩票 乐发lv 快盈彩票 乐发彩票官方网站 盈彩网投资平台 大发官网 一分时时彩 乐发lv 快3平台 凤凰快3 乐发ll 全民彩票 乐发彩票官方网站 百姓彩票 乐发彩票 大发彩票 极速快3 乐发app 大发官网 乐发lll 快3平台 凤凰快3 乐发ll 全民彩票 乐发彩票官方网站 百姓彩票 乐发彩票 大发彩票 极速快3 乐发app 彩神iv 大发彩票app 大小单双平台 一分pk10 乐发lv 快盈彩票 乐发官网 快彩彩票 百姓彩票 凤凰彩票大厅 网信彩票 乐发彩票中心 网信快3 乐发 彩神xl 三分快3 大发彩票 大发官网 乐发lll 快3平台 凤凰快3 乐发ll 全民彩票 乐发彩票官方网站 百姓彩票 乐发彩票 乐发彩票官方网站 大发彩票 乐发 分分快3 彩神vl 55世纪 55世纪 凤凰快3 乐发彩票 乐发lv welcome凤凰彩票 乐发ll 1分快3 彩神 彩神ll 1分快3官网 1分快3的平台 welcome凤凰彩票 三分快3 彩神x 彩神vl 凤凰彩票 彩神xl 大发彩票 凤凰彩票大厅 乐发官网 乐发ll 乐发lll 乐发lv 大发彩票app 大发彩票 乐发 乐发彩票 乐发彩票中心 凤凰快3 乐发彩票 彩神xl 腾讯快3 大发彩票 彩神xl 大发彩票 乐发彩票 大发彩票app 快3平台 乐发 1分快3 乐发彩票 彩神x 凤凰快3 彩神xl 彩吧助手 大发彩票app 快3平台 大发排列3 彩神iv 彩神vl 乐发IV 彩神x 一分pk10 大发排列3 乐发lv 快3彩票 乐发app下载 三分快3 快三平台助手 乐发彩票ll 彩神iv 乐发lll下载 盈彩网投资平台 乐发Ⅲ 一分pk10 凤凰彩票 乐发Vll 大发官网 乐发ll 大发彩票 乐发1 凤凰快3 彩神vl 乐发lx 百姓彩票 乐发VI 彩神x 乐发IV 极速快3 乐发 凤凰快3 网信快3 乐发lv 快3彩票 乐发app下载 三分快3 快三平台助手 乐发彩票ll 彩神iv 乐发lll下载 盈彩网投资平台 乐发Ⅲ 凤凰彩票大厅 乐发lv 乐发lv 乐发lv 凤凰彩票 大发彩票 大发彩票 凤凰彩票 乐发lv 凤凰彩票 凤凰彩票 乐发lv 乐发ll 凤凰彩票app下载 凤凰彩票 凤凰彩票 乐发lv 乐发ll 凤凰彩票app下载 凤凰彩票 凤凰彩票 乐发lv 彩神x 乐发 乐发ll 极速快3 乐发lv 乐发彩票中心 快3彩票 凤凰彩票大厅 彩神x 凤凰彩票app 分分快3 网信彩票 网盟彩票 凤凰彩票 百姓彩票 乐发 快彩彩票 乐发彩票 快3平台 百姓彩票 大小单双平台 凤凰快3 彩神xl 一分pk10 乐发lv 三分快3 大发彩票 乐发彩票 快3平台 百姓彩票 大小单双平台 凤凰快3 彩神xl 一分pk10 乐发lv 三分快3 大发彩票 极速快3 乐发ll 网信彩票 乐发lv 全民彩票 凤凰彩票app下载 快盈彩票 大发彩票app 大发官网 凤凰彩票 彩神iv 大发彩票 网信快3 凤凰彩票 百姓彩票