Collections of the Palace Museum

The art collections of the Palace Museum (Chinese: 故宫博物院; pinyin: Gùgōng Bówùyùan), a national museum housed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, are built upon the imperial collection of the Ming and Qing dynasties. This collection was expanded in the 20th century with new acquisitions, transfers from other museums, and new archaeological discoveries.

The Palace Museum is housed in the Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, and the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square metres. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City 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.

Built from 1406 to 1420, the Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the early Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. In 1912, Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated. Under an agreement with the new Republic of China government, Puyi remained in the Inner Court, while the Outer Court was given over to public use, where a small museum was set up to display artifacts housed in the Outer Court. In 1924, Puyi was evicted from the Inner Court after a coup. The Palace Museum was then established in the Forbidden City on Double Ten Day (October 10), 1925.

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Wikipedia