Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    BEIJING’S Forbidden City, the former imperial residence that is today formally known as the Palace Museum, will open up more areas and restore more old buildings and relics to ensure visitors have better experiences during the next six years leading up to its 600th anniversary in 2020, Shan Jixiang, the head of the Palace Museum, said in a lecture in Shenzhen on Sunday.

    Shan, who was appointed Palace Museum director after more than US$1.5 million worth of relics were stolen from the museum in 2012, talked about the challenges the Forbidden City faces and addressed some of the misconceptions visitors have at the Shenzhen lecture.

    “Many visitors complain that the open areas of the giant complex are too limited. The reason is that some areas are under renovation while some are occupied by outside institutions,” said Shan.

    With the palaces covering an area of 170,000 square meters, the Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Built from 1406 to 1420, it consists of 9,000 rooms and exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture. In 1925, one year after the last Qing emperor was forced to leave the palace, it opened to the public as the Palace Museum. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

    Tourists are allowed to access the main palaces located along the central area of the complex and some small courtyards on the eastern side of the palace grounds. With an annual 100 million yuan (US$16.4 million) allocation from the Central Government, the complex’s renovation project started in 2002 and is expected to be finished in 2020, according to Shan.

    Opening more areas is the central purpose of the restoration project. Shan disclosed that the western areas of the complex, where the imperial women lived, would open to visitors for the first time in 2015.

    “Before 2002, only 30 percent of the Forbidden City was open for visiting; as of 2012, 46 percent was open to the public. Now, we are cleaning out irrelevant institutions, administrative offices, staff canteens and cars and are removing temporary modern buildings. In 2020, when the Forbidden City is 600 years old, 76 percent will open to the public,” said Shan.

    The plan to open more areas was based on research and renovations behind closed doors. Shan, an architect formerly in charge of Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, said he has done something even former emperors never achieved: He has been in all 9,000 rooms of the Forbidden City since he took the position as the museum’s head.

    He said there were some rooms packed with ancient giant cases that were untouched for years, and recently they found 28,000 manuscripts of poems written by Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) in unmarked cases. “No one knows how many more astonishing secrets are hidden here,” said Shan.

    The Palace Museum houses countless rare and valuable ancient works of art, including paintings, ceramics, seals, steles, sculptures, silk clothes, bronze wares, enamel objects, etc. According to an inventory of the museum’s collection conducted between 2004 and 2010, the Palace Museum holds 1,807,558 artifacts, 93.2 percent of which are designated as nationally protected valuable cultural relics.

    “Some visitors complain that they don’t see many relics at the Forbidden City because we only exhibit 9,000 items to the public while the rest are reserved in underground warehouses,” said Shan. “Different kinds of ancient relics cannot be kept at the same temperature, so many have to be kept in well-equipped warehouses,” he explained.

    But Shan said he would ensure more relics are available for viewing after more palaces are restored to their original looks. For example, an exhibition hall will be set up in the Prolonging Happiness Palace to house Western objects brought by ambassadors and missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries.

    Meanwhile, a new museum affiliated with the Palace Museum is being built in the northwestern outskirts of Beijing. The site will house large artifacts such as ancient carpets, lamps and vehicles and has a repair center, a research center for technology conservation and an exhibition space.

    The Palace Museum’s abundant imperial collections make it a condensed showcase of Chinese history. Restoration of the huge number of relics is time-consuming and difficult. Shan said his team sought 47 craftsmen who were descendants of imperial artisans in Beijing last year to restore ancient furniture, making palace lanterns and other decorations.

    Protecting the relics also involves minimizing risks posed by natural disasters and preventing theft. In May 2011, a 27-year-old visitor stole nine relics containing gold and jewels valued at up to 10 million yuan. The incident sparked public concern over security loopholes in the Forbidden City. Shan admitted their security system hadn’t been upgraded since 1998, but last year, all exhibits were equipped with microchips to spot any movement. Moreover, armed police would take over as security guards in the near future.

    The huge volume of visitors during peak seasons also brings many challenges, and Shan stressed that, “We should treat visitors with more dignity.”

    In 2012, the number of visitors to the Forbidden City topped 14 million, making it the only museum to receive more than 10 million visitors in the world. It was once normal to spend at least an hour waiting in a queue to buy tickets. “After standing in line for two hours and squeezing into a crowded museum, who would be in a good mood to enjoy the tour?” Shan asked, rhetorically.

    After opening more ticket offices and improving the inspection system, visitors are better organized than before and can get tickets within 3-15 minutes. More eating areas and seats have been added to prevent visitors eating on the grounds, which is not civilized and damages the complex’s beauty.

    Shan said they also removed iron bars that were used to protect sculptures in gardens and replaced them with short green plants. This move not only prevents visitors from touching relics but also preserves the natural beauty of the gardens.

    “By 2020, at the 600th birthday of this palace, the Forbidden City will be ready to stand for another 600 years as a representative of Chinese history and culture,” Shan said.