The Palace Museum, founded in 1925, is a national museum housed inside the Forbidden City, the imperial palace of the Ming (1368-1683) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties and a World Heritage site since 1987.

Located at the center of Beijing, the Palace Museum holds over 1,807,558 artifacts, including paintings, pottery, inscribed wares, bronze wares, and court documents. There are over a million rare and valuable works of art in the museum’s collection. Here is a list of the top five treasures to be found at the museum.

1. Yaxu Rectangular Vessel (亚方尊)

Located at the Bronzeware Hall of Chengqian Palace (承乾宫青铜器馆), the bronze Xu Rectangular Vessel is a wine container popular from the Shang Dynasty (1556 BC–1046 BC) to the Warring States period (475 BC -221 BC). It is 38 centimeters wide, 45.5 centimeters tall with a caliber measuring 33.6 * 33.4 centimeters. The vessel weighs 21.4 kilograms and has four handles on each side in the form of an elephant’s head. Between the two handles are decorations of other unknown animals. The body is covered with motifs of dragons and animal masks against a thunder pattern.

3. Gray Jade Stove Carved with Dragon in Cloud (青玉云龙纹炉)

Located at the Jadeware Hall of Zhongcui Palace (钟粹宫玉器馆), the stove is considered a jadeware masterpiece among the Palace Museum’s collection. Made in the Song Dynasty, the stove is 7.9 centimeters tall and 12.8 centimeters in diameter. The surface is carved with floating dragons, auspicious clouds and the oceanic waves. Carved at bottom of the piece is a classical poem written by Emperor Qianlong.

4. Cloisonné Incense Burner with Lotus Decoration and Elephant-trunk Handles (掐丝珐琅缠枝莲纹象耳炉)

This Yuan Dynasty incense burner is 13.9 and 13.5 centimeters in diameter. It has a round and bulging brass body, two handles shaped like elephant trunks and a foot ring. Around the neck are 12 yellow, white, red and purple chrysanthemum flowers on a light blue enamel background. The body is decorated with six red, white and yellow intertwining lotus flowers on a sapphire blue background. Below them is a band of lotus petals. The enamel coating is shiny and smooth. In some places, it is as transparent as glass.

2. Carved Lacquer Plate by Zhang Cheng (张成造款雕漆云纹盘)

Zhang Cheng was the lacquerware carving master of the Yuan Dynasty and his masterpiece is traditionally regarded as the gem of carved lacquerware works. This plate is the representative masterpiece of lacquerware collected in the Palace Museum. It is 3.3 centimeters tall and has a caliber measuring 19.2 centimeters. The body of the plate is made of wood and painted black. The inside and outside of the plate are both carved in the shape of clouds.

5. Riverside Scene during Qingming Festival (清明上河图)

Located at the Paintings and Calligraphy Hall of Wuying Palace (武英殿书画馆), the Riverside Scene during Qingming Festival is one of the top five Chinese classical paintings. It was painted in the Song Dynasty by Zhang Zeduan, a royal-assigned painter who worked in the Imperial Art Academy, considered one of the greatest ancient Chinese painters. The masterpiece is 24.8 centimeters wide and 528.7 centimeters long, depicting real-life scenes of China in the 12th century. It displays the prosperous city of Bianjing (now called Kaifeng in Henan Province) on Qingming Festival, highlighting the developed economy of the Song Dynasty.

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Source: culturalchina.com