On October 10, 1925, the Forbidden City in Beijing became the Palace Museum. The massive complex of ancient imperial palaces that was home to the royalty of the Ming and Qing dynasties for centuries became a museum for the people. Today, there are four Palace Museums: the original in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, with a Southern branch in Chiayi which opened in 2015, and the Hong Kong Palace Museum which opened in 2022. In this series, we explore the stories behind the centenary and look at how each museum is marking this major milestone.
Among the extraordinary stories of the second world war is a saga that is largely unknown outside China: the epic 17-year odyssey to save the country’s heritage in the world’s largest and longest migration of cultural treasures.
