10 little known facts of the Palace Museum

The Palace Museum, also known as Forbidden City, is a must-see destination in Beijing. It's so big that most people can only get a cursory glance at the spectacular place upon their first visit.

However, there is too much to see and feel here, one visit is far from enough to know the Forbidden City. It is not only a tourist spot, but also a museum full of treasures.

Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum，reveals some things about the attraction that people may not know about.

1. A couplet was found hidden behind a painting at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Gong).

Recently, when employees at the Palace Museum were taking down an ancient painting by a Qing Dynasty painter Gu Quan from a wall in Kunning Gong for repair, a couplet was found hidden behind the painting. The horizontal hanging scroll of the couplet was confirmed to be written by Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty.

2. The newly found scripts by Emperor Qianlong total at 28,000.

When employees were sorting out the relics in the Palace Museum, they accidentally found two large boxes filled with numerous scripts. Through identification by experts, they were found to be the writings of Emperor Qianlong from the Qing Dynasty.

3. Collections at the Taipei Palace Museum mostly come from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

According to statistics, as of March 31 this year, the collections at the Taipei Palace Museum have totaled 696,112 pieces. Among them, 597,556 pieces, that is 85.8%, are from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

4. The Palace Museum is not only a tourist spot, but more of a real museum.

During recent years, the Palace Museum has had around 45 exhibitions each year, and the items exhibited total nearly 10,000 pieces.

5. There is a rule at the Palace Museum that painting and calligraphy collections have to "rest" for three years after they are exhibited once, even the curator can not take out the collections.