Royal treat to see in Forbidden City's Cining Palace

A sculpture at a living room in Shoukang Palace.

The birthdays of the emperors and their mothers were national celebrations.

Painting of the 60th Birthday Celebration of Emperor Kangxi is on show for the first time.

The 40-meter-long painting depicts a street view of 18,000 people celebrating the emperor's birthday. The show also includes a separate room displaying birthday gifts given to the emperors. One of the gifts on display is a gilded rifle presented by Lord Macartney, the envoy sent by George III of Britain in 1793.

"We have found lots of birthday gifts sent by foreign countries to emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in our warehouses. The rifle from Britain is one for which we have the most details," says Ren Wanping, director of the antiques department at the museum.

Ren says that other than the rifle, there are lots of interesting things that were sent by Britain which was then in the midst of the Industrial Revolution.

Among the gifts are also screens with poems written by emperors' sons and grandsons, a very rare chance to see the handwriting of sons and grandsons of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722). The reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty marked the start of a relatively prosperous period for the dynasty. His son and grandson were also able rulers.

Besides shows on the world of the royal women and imperial birthdays, visitors can also see shows featuring old houses in the Forbidden City.

The new treats at the Forbidden City have begun attracting large crowds. Long lines outside the palaces are a common scene.

"It could mean a long wait to see a show," says Xiong Ning, who visited the Palace Museum on Sunday.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn