Can a chair tell a story? Well, in Beijing, the Palace Museum is displaying more than 300 pieces of furniture and cultural relics from the Ming and Qing dynasties that might just reveal more about the lives behind the Forbidden City. 

In an area known as the South Storehouse in the Forbidden City, exquisite furniture from this glorious past is finally on display.

The Palace Museum began renovations in 2015 in order to open the area to the public. 

This warehouse is the largest in the Forbidden City so it's the right place to exhibit large cultural relics, like furniture. The Palace Museum has collected 6,200 pieces of furniture crafted in the Ming and Qing dynasties and Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, hopes to show them all to the public.

Chairs, beds, and folding screens used by the imperial court are rare and superb examples from the Ming and Qing dynasties. 

Wang Ge, vice director of the exhibition department of the Palace Museum, said: "You'll learn a lot here even if you have no idea about furniture. You can always find something that interests you. I think we've made it when we see people getting this close to understanding our traditional culture".

The once "Forbidden City" is becoming more and more open to the public with even more exhibition areas and collections slated for display by the end of next year. 

(Cover: A piece of furniture is displayed in the exhibition on Sept. 20, 2018. /VCG Photo)