Collections of the Palace Museum.

The Palace Museum in Beijing is a grand comprehensive museum integrating ancient architecture, imperial collections, and historical art and culture, established upon the Forbidden City and its collections. It stands as China's largest museum of ancient art and culture. The Forbidden City was completed in 1420 and served as the imperial residence for 24 emperors throughout the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1911).

On October 10, 1925, the Palace Museum was founded within the Forbidden City, transforming the former imperial palace into a public institution. In December 1987, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, making the protection and inheritance of this precious cultural heritage a sacred mission and shared responsibility for all guardians of the Palace Museum.

Over its century-long history, the Palace Museum has always shouldered a dual mission: to promote fine traditional Chinese culture through its treasure collections, and to facilitate dialogue and exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations with an open mindset.

Telling China's stories through cultural artifacts

As the best-preserved ancient wooden palace complex in the world, the Palace Museum houses more than 1.86 million pieces (sets) of cultural artifacts. Over the past century, it has been committed to preserving traditional heritage and advancing cross-cultural communication. Through globally touring exhibitions, it showcases China's cultural achievements while fostering international dialogue and mutual understanding.

In November 1935, the Palace Museum dispatched 735 cultural artifacts to an international exhibition of Chinese art in London. This landmark event marked both the museum's first overseas showcase and modern China's inaugural presentation of the nation's millennia-old cultural splendor through artifacts.

Since that pioneering endeavor, the Palace Museum has successively organized or participated in more than 200 exhibitions across all continents, featuring cultural artifacts, digital displays and creative cultural products in 35 countries.