More than 260 antiques from the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City are on display in the Capital Museum for their “first outing”. The exhibition will last to Feb 26, 2017, as a special event of the fourth Beijing People’s Beneficial Cultural Consumption Season.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation has always been a must-visit place of the Forbidden City for tourists. It’s where emperors lived and summoned grand ministers of state, and where curtained queen mothers attended to state affairs.

According to Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, only 30 percent of the hall is open to visitors due to limited conditions. Other places, such as the Buddhist shrine and living rooms, are never opened to the outside.

For research and protection, the hall is going through a four-year renovation project for the first time in the last century. Almost 2,000 interior and exterior decorations have been moved, including the pieces on display in the Capital Museum.

The museum has replicated the appearance of the hall and enhanced protective measures. For example, it maintains the room’s temperature at 24 degrees Celsius and its humidity at 53 percent, and changes the calligraphy and paintings every three months to avoid long-term exposure.

Date: Sept 28, 2016 - Feb 26, 2017

Place: Hall D, third floor of Square Exhibition Hall, Capital Museum

Address: No 16 Fuxingmenwai Street, Xicheng district, Beijing

Open at these times: 9 am to 5 pm (no entry after 4 pm, closed on Mondays)

Reservation number: 010-6339-3339