Beijing’s Palace Museum could triple the number of artefacts on display when the new north campus opens, according to a museum official.
The construction of the museum’s north campus started in December 2022. This will house 12 exhibition halls with 35,000 square metres of space (via South China Morning Post).
Once the $310m expansion is completed, the Palace Museum will be able to display up to 30,000 items annually, said the museum’s party secretary and vice chairman, Du Haijiang.
The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, has a collection of nearly 1.9 million cultural relics. However, fewer than 10,000 of these are showcased each year due to a “lack of space and conditions”, Du said.
Forbidden City expansion plans
“The construction of the north campus is the biggest factor in the solution of the museum’s safety issues, including the safety of cultural relics and ancient buildings, the safety of visitors, and the safety of movable cultural relics,” Du said.
Additionally, the new campus will include a “heritage hospital” where guests will get to view the restoration process of various artefacts.
The whole expansion project will cover an area of more than 11 hectares. It is located in a village northwest of Beijing, approximately 30 kilometres from the Forbidden City. It is expected to be completed in 2025.
The Hong Kong Palace Museum, a HK$3.5 billion version of Beijing’s Palace Museum, opened in the West Kowloon Cultural District in July 2022.
The opening exhibitions displayed 914 pieces from the Palace Museum and were jointly curated by the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the Beijing-based institution.
