WHEN Stefano De Caro first saw the Palace Museum, or Forbidden City, in the movie “The Last Emperor” in the 1980s, he thought, “this is China.”

    After visiting the palace complex, however, it dawned on him that there was much more about China.

    “The Palace Museum has over the years impressed me on many more perspectives,” De Caro, director general of the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), told Xinhua at the 2016 Ancient Civilization Forum, which was held at the Palace Museum from Wednesday to Thursday.

    For example, the restoration work is fantastic, De Caro said.

    Today, the Palace Museum has a conservation team of more than 100 professionals, who are tasked with restoring and maintaining the museum’s rich collection, which includes ancient calligraphic works, paintings, time pieces and bronze items.

    The Palace Museum is home to the world’s largest ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting collection. While many are hundreds of years old, some were born over a millennia ago.

    Earlier this year, “Masters in the Forbidden City,” a China Central Television documentary that profiled the work of the museum’s restoration department became an unexpected Internet hit. It clocked up over 4 million views and scored an impressive rating of 9.5/10 on a major video-streaming website in China.

    The responsibility, inner peace and persistence of the technicians have made them “idols” among many of the post-80s and post-90s generations.

    “It is important to attract young people, who have developed higher expectations on museums,” De Caro said, noting this challenge is faced by museums worldwide .

    De Caro also spoke highly of the opening up of this once-forbidden space.

    In 2002, only 30 percent of the Forbidden City was open to the public, last year this rose to 65 percent, and soon 80 percent of the complex will be accessible, according to the Palace Museum.

    To commemorate its 90th anniversary last year, the museum opened freshly restored sections including the Palace of Longevity and Health and the Garden of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, both used by Ming and Qing dynasty empress dowagers, as well as its southeast corner tower.

    This forum aimed to generate solutions to common problems in preserving world cultural heritage and to seek ways of sustainable inheritance of human civilizations.

    It brought together leading archaeologists, historians and museologists from ICCROM, the International Council of Museums (ICOM), International Council on Monuments and Sites and eight countries known for their ancient civilizations — Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Mexico and China.

    Over 40 professionals from various countries signed “The Declaration of Supreme Harmony,” appealing to countries with great civilizations to strengthen communication and better protect cultural heritage.

    Preserving and sharing culture of the ancient civilizations is a global theme, Hans-Martin Hinz, former ICOM president, told Xinhua. “The Palace Museum’s contributions are visible to the rest of the world.” (Xinhua)