Forbidden gates swing open

Meridian Gate towers above the entrance to the Palace Museum in Beijing, China's imperial palace from 1420 to 1911 and also known as the Forbidden City. During the imperial years, numerous royals, high officials and nobles walked through this gate, which stands for solemnity, ritual and order. They stepped into a place closed to outsiders, a place in which the course of their own destinies — and often the fate of the country — was shaped.

- WANG KAIHAO

In October 1925 the Palace Museum was established, unlocking the gates for the public and marking the beginning of a story about custodians devoted to safeguarding and extending an unbroken civilization.

A century later tourists ascend the Meridian Gate Galleries, a privilege that was unimaginable even for most high officials who passed the doorway in ancient times. Here the exhibition A Century of Stewardship: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum opened on Sept 30, and runs until the end of the year.

More than 200 carefully chosen exhibits, including paintings, calligraphic works, jade, bronze ware, gold ware, porcelain and architectural components, are on view.

A half-day tour of its three galleries is akin to undertaking millennia time travel.

One monumental treasure on view, and perhaps the most famous Chinese painting, Along the River During the Qingming Festival, was unrolled for the first time in a decade.