Forbidden City goes digital for new age

THE Forbidden City is shaping a new image for itself after almost six centuries.

The imperial palace, also known as the Palace Museum, is expanding its appeal to the smartphone generation.

“I believe we are the best digital museum in the world,” museum curator Shan Jixiang said earlier this month.

Shan was referring to a digital exhibition which opened last October atop Duanmen Gate, the main entrance to the palace grounds.

Visitors may walk directly into the emperor’s residence and, through VR, see everything as it was in its heyday, even to the extent of being able to talk with a senior minister with the help of artificial intelligence.

The Palace Museum houses 1.9 million antique items.

“A lot of the Palace is not accessible to the public, but through VR, nowhere is offlimits, even the Hall of Three Rarities, a 4.8-square-meter chamber where Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) housed his most treasured calligraphy,” Shan said, adding that the digital gallery at Duanmen opened in 2015, displaying items that are too old and fragile for real display.

Last March, the Palace Museum announced it would digitalize its entire collection and make the images available to the public.

In February 2015, the museum launched an app to showcase its collection. The app highlights one item from the collection every day; nine apps have been released.