Forbidden City reveals its secrets

Unprecedented attempt

No previous variety show has been shot in the palace complex like this.

As for cinema, there have been rare exceptions like the Academy Award-winning The Last Emperor.

For the variety show, the Palace Museum has taken the reins of the production for the first time. Zhu Yong, a veteran history researcher at the museum-who is also the head of the film and TV department at Gugong Academy, a research institute affiliated to the Palace Museum-is the chief screenwriter for the show.

Speaking about his new role, Zhu says he understands that it is not an easy job.

"It's complicated work to get so many different departments in our museum all geared up," he says.

"Six centuries of history is not easy to digest, but we have to think of ways to make it accessible to young audiences."

Actor Zhou Yiwei, who is known for his characters in historical productions, has a long monologue in the show as Emperor Qianlong who reigned from 1736 to 1795.

The emperor was a monarch who held ultimate power, but was chained by rituals and his high position. He was also a literati who looked for freedom and was obsessed with the Jiangnan area (a region by the southern bank of the lower Yangtze River).

Fans of Qing-court dramas also have something to look forward to as the show features Hong Kong actress Ada Choi and her mainland counterparts, Qin Lan and Ning Jing, all of whom once played the role of Qing empresses for various popular TV series.

Among the places featured are the Juanqinzhai (the studio of Exhaustion after Diligent Service), an exquisite garden complex built for Emperor Qianlong, which is still not open to the general public.

As of now, about 20 percent of the Palace Museum is still not accessible to the public, but that is a far cry from 2014, when nearly half of the complex was out of bounds for general visitors.

Director Mao Jia says: "Many areas have been opened up in recent years which leaves less room for us to work. So, on many occasions we have to find new stories."

Revealing details about the show, she says an upcoming episode will focus on Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) in which he will be portrayed as a big fan of Western machinery and medicine.

"The episode will focus on a spot where the emperor once conducted an experiment."