Happy birthday, the Palace Museum! As once an area of emperors and royal yard, the Palace Museum celebrated its 600th birthday on Aug. 14th, 2020. Though it was closed to the public for a while during the outbreak (疫情期间), it still received billions of wishes from all directions.
① Built in 1420, the palace recorded lives of important people through various treasures and documents. The museum can provide a large amount of valuable material for today's historical research, as well as inspiration (灵感) for literature and entertainment.
② Over the last ten years, the museum has produced more than 10,000 cultural products about the imperial palace, ranging from fans, notebooks to apps and decorations.
③ The most popular products are the royal cats. The items are inspired by the real cats who call the Palace Museum home. More than 200 cats are living in the palace where they are being well cared for. These furry guys often roam around without purpose and pose lovely to the delight of visitors, who often can interact with them.
④ "The primary reason why the Palace Museum has become so popular among people is that it keeps the right balance between preserving history, sharing knowledge, and providing interesting displays," said Shan Jixiang, former director and curator of the museum.