Visitors keen on seeing A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, a 12th-century masterpiece, at the Palace Museum show that history and tradition are still cherished in the country.

For the second time in two years we have people in Beijing standing in long lines for a museum exhibition.

This time, like on the previous occasion, it is for an exhibition at the Palace Museum, China's imperial palace from 1420 to 1911, also known as the Forbidden City.

The long line is to see the painting, A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, an early 12th-century masterpiece.

The current situation is a repeat of what happened two years ago when another Chinese painting, Alongside the River During the Qingming Festival, was on display at the museum.

A documentary on cultural relic restorers, Masters in the Forbidden City, went viral online and even sparked a rise in the number of people applying for jobs at the museum last year.

The Meridian Gate Gallery, just above the entrance of the museum, for example, was unlocked in 2015 to create a 2,800-square-meter space to display treasures including A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains.

According to Shan, from the 80,000 visitors to the museum daily, 10,000 climb up to the Meridian Gate Gallery.

Meanwhile, a research academy was also established at the museum in 2013 to use academic resources beyond its red walls. And many retired researchers from the museum and scholars from other institutions were invited to join inter-disciplinary studies at the academy, which has more than 20 departments.