The Grand Centenary Exhibition of the Forbidden City: A Breathtaking Encounter with National Treasures

Let me kick things off with a sunset photo I took last year at the Meridian Gate. Back then, I never imagined that this place would be the main venue for a centennial exhibition in the fall of 2025.

Why I’ve Been Waiting for News for Half a Year

Back in 2015, for the 90th-anniversary exhibition of the Forbidden City, I waited in line for 4 hours just to get into the “Shiqu Baoji” exhibition hall. That day, the original “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” was only lit up in a glass case for 30 seconds. I tiptoed to see it for 3 seconds before being pushed away by the crowd behind me. Those 3 seconds planted a seed in my heart — the moment the Forbidden City holds another exhibition of this scale, I will not miss it.

In March this year, the official website quietly launched a preview page for “Guardianship for a Century.” I immediately circled the dates from September 29 to December 31 in red on my calendar. According to the Forbidden City’s usual practice, such a monumental exhibition won’t happen again for another hundred years, which means we’ll have to wait until 2125. I’m 30 this year and probably won’t make it to then, so — I have to go this time.

Exhibition Dates and Location

I’ve been to the Meridian Gate exhibition hall three times, and the flow is very clear: enter the main hall, view calligraphy and paintings in the East Wing, check out artifacts in the West Wing, and finally exit from the city wall for some photos. This centennial exhibition is said to connect these three spaces into a “Guardianship Timeline,” where you will be greeted with black and white photos from 1925 of the Forbidden City Museum as soon as you step in. At the exit, there’ll be real-time footage from the 2025 digital restoration room.

The 9 National Treasures I Can’t Wait to See

Based on the lineup from 2015, it’s likely that this time things will be rotated and the 9 treasures won’t all be on display at once. I’ve divided them into three tiers based on how likely I think they are to be seen, to help you set your expectations:

Note: If the official site releases a “monthly exhibit item list,” prioritize grabbing months for “Qianli Jiangshan Tu” and “Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” as those two will draw the longest lines.

Highlights of the Artifact Preservation and Innovative Inheritance Exhibition Area

What moves me most about this exhibition isn’t the artifacts themselves, but how to preserve them until 2125.

• 1925 Exhibition Area: Displays the handwritten ledger of the first batch of 1,168,049 artifacts that were relocated, the paper has become too fragile to turn pages, and next to it is a 3D scanned electronic version that allows you to zoom in on each line of ink.
• 1950s Exhibition Area: Recreates the Forbidden City’s earliest artifact hospital—a row of wooden tables, a few gas lamps, and a pair of tweezers. Comparing this to the AI restoration room in 2025 is like stepping into a time travel show.
• Interactive Experience: The West Wing has 4 “digital restoration stations” where visitors can personally place “electronic patches” on the cracks of “Wu Niu Tu,” and the system will display how it would look after 50 years of preservation.

My Ticket-Buying Strategy

Last year, I helped 5 friends grab tickets for the Dunhuang special exhibition and came up with a “Forbidden City ticket-buying toolkit”:

Key Point: This centennial exhibition may limit the flow by 50%, and tickets are likely to be harder to snag than usual. I plan to get an “early bird ticket” on September 1 and adjust my date after the official release of the specific exhibits.

My Personal Schedule for the Visit Day

My secret photo spot: The third parapet at the right side of the Meridian Gate city wall exit, you can capture all three main halls and the exhibition poster in one frame. I got a great sunset shot here last year.

Important Notes (Lessons Learned from Experience)

1. No selfie sticks allowed, but you can bring an external lens for your phone. I tried a small 15cm wide-angle lens that can capture the whole “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.”
2. Exhibition hall temperature is 20℃, a long-sleeved shirt is just right; a jacket would be too hot.
3. Audio guide rental is 40 yuan, but there are free audio files available on the official WeChat account; download them in advance to save time in line.
4. Cultural shop closes at 5:30 PM, half an hour earlier than the exhibition hall. If you want the limited edition items, go early.

To wrap things up, here’s a photo I took at the “Shiqu Baoji” exhibition hall during the grand exhibition in 2015. It was super crowded, but when I looked up and saw the original “Boyuan Tie,” I suddenly felt that 4 hours in line was worth it.

See you in the fall of 2025 at the Meridian Gate.