Shenyang Palace Museum showcases 100 national treasures

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Shenyang Palace Museum unveiled 100 national treasures Monday, kicking off an event that invites the public to choose three of their favorite pieces from the displayed antiques.

Situated in Shenyang, the capital city of China's northeastern Liaoning Province, Shenyang Palace Museum is not only the former imperial palace of three emperors before the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) but also the temporary residence of four Qing Dynasty emperors when they took the ancestor-worship tour.

Currently, it houses 105,085 items that are considered cultural relics, according to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH).

Aerial view of Shenyang Palace Museum in northeast China's Liaoning Province. /VCG Photo

To prepare the event, the museum selected the exhibits from its massive collections, many of which were rarely shown to the public before for better preservation.

The exhibition features wide varieties of precious antiques, including historical relics, porcelains, enamels, lacquer wares, sculptures, paintings, embroidery, and court objects.

It also sees costumes of emperors and empresses, as well as imperial furniture and artwork, which can date back to the early Qing Dynasty, on display, presenting the distinct historical and cultural characteristics of royal life at the time.

Four cultural relics from the Qing Dynasty on display at the exhibition at Shenyang Palace Museum in Liaoning, China. /Photos via sypm.org.cn

Among the exhibits, an enamel refrigerator during the Emperor Qianlong's reign drew a huge crowd on the opening day to admire its exquisite details.

With a square top and bottom, it is funnel-shaped while its top surface and five sides are all decorated with cloisonne enamel and the bottom with a vivid yellow dragon.

The fine masterpiece shows delicate craftsmanship and is fairly functional. According to Li Shengneng, curator of the museum, the refrigerator helps preserve food while serving as an air conditioner by sending out cool air through its air holes.

'Most precious gifts from history'

A chair and a rope used by Abahai, widely known as Huang Taiji, are on display at the exhibition at Shenyang Palace Museum. /Photos via sypm.org.cn

Shenyang Palace Museum was one of three great storehouses of imperial treasure, with the Palace Museum in Beijing and Chengde Mountain Resort in central China's Hebei Province joining the ranks.

During the Qing Dynasty, nearly 200,000 royal objects and court documents were transformed here from the capital city for storage.

Li described them as "the most precious gifts from history," saying that "the beauty of the cultural relics should be appreciated and embraced by more people instead of being shelved and forgotten."

Shenyang Palace Museum in Liaoning, China. /VCG Photo

"The museum will continue to explore the stories behind these treasures," said the curator, adding that it is finding the way to be the inheritor of cultural heritage, the defender of historic relics.

It is the first time that the museum is engaging the public in selection activity. Visitors can vote for their favorite exhibits online. Three cultural relics with the most likes will become the museum's representative treasures for their uniqueness and fineness.

The exhibition will run for two months until June.

(Cover: A palace gate at Shenyang Palace Museum in Liaoning, China. /VCG Photo)