Palace Museum in Forbidden City holds a huge number of Chinese culture relics

A restoring expert of the Palace Museum fills colors for an ancient calligraphy work at Cultural Relics Protection Science and Technology Department in the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 25, 2013.

The famous Forbidden City in Beijing houses the Palace Museum, which was established on October 1925. As China’s largest museum, the Palace Museum not only holds a huge

number of culture relics, but also bears responsibility to preserve and restore these valuable items. The latter effort was first made in 1950s when the Museum set up a Cultural Relics Restoration Factory. In 1980, the factory was renamed as Cultural Relics Protection Science and Technology Department. Nowadays, different from the bustling tourism area in the Forbidden City, the department locates in a restricted place with security systems as the items sent here for restoration must be strictly protected. Restoration experts here, just like a good doctor who can cure stubborn illness, take responsibility to restore the original face of the painting and calligraphy works. For 50 years, they restored about 110,000 cultural relics, including such national treasure as the painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The mounting and repairing technique of the Palace Museum has been listed as China’s intangible cultural heritage.

Chang Jie, repairing expert of the Palace Museum, fixes color for an ancient calligraphy work with a special glue at Cultural Relics Protection Science and Technology Department in the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 25, 2013.

Combination photo taken on Jan. 25, 2013 shows Xu Jianhua, a 60-odd restoring expert of the Palace Museum, shows a shabby ancient painting in the upper photo and he tries to restore the painting in the lower photo at Cultural Relics Protection Science and Technology Department in the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China.

Combination photo taken on Jan. 25, 2013 shows restoring experts of the Palace Museum Li Yin (L) and Yang Zehua mend a silk painting at Cultural Relics Protection Science and Technology Department of the Palace Museum in the upper photo and the horseshoe knife used in mending the silk painting in the lower photo in Beijing, capital of China. <Xinhua/Li Wen>