Some of China's greatest treasures reside in the Palace Museum in Taipei, the subject of a 12-part documentary that shows fabulous relics and reenacts historical scenes.
One of the world's greatest collection of Chinese art and relics is housed by the Palace Museum in Taipei, including around 240,000 objects that once were part of the Beijing Palace Museum.
The Taipei museum, which opened in 1965, contains around 650,000 objects, but only 1,700 of them can be displayed to the public at a given time. The collection is rotated every few months so that all the key objects can be viewed.
Now, a 12-part documentary that has taken two years to make will reveal more treasures and history, beginning next Monday on CCTV-1 at 10:30 nightly.
The series was filmed by famed documentary maker Zhou Bing from China Central Television.
It is a sequel to his previous documentary, "The Forbidden City," (The Palace Museum in Beijing), praised by both audience and critics.
"The Palace Museum in Taipei and the Palace Museum inside the Forbidden City in Beijing share the same original roots, which were split in two as a result of the Chinese Civil War (1945-49)," Zhou says.
In 1949, almost 3,900 crates of treasures were moved to Taiwan.
"Each artwork is unique and tells its own story. Our documentary aims to provide insight into our nation's amazing arts and culture," says Zhou.
The documentary features cultural heritage of all kinds, including bronze vessels, porcelains, jade articles, lacquer, paintings and calligraphy.
"Jadeite Cabbage" is one of the most treasured items. It is a Chinese cabbage, with delicately carved deep green leaves and a pale green root. A large and small grasshopper are hidden in the leaves.
The Taipei museum houses the Wenyuange edition of the "Siku Quanshu" ("Complete Library of the Four Branches of Literature"). Written by edict of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it is the most comprehensive encyclopedia of Chinese scholarship from antiquity to the 18th century. Only three complete sets of the original exist today. The Wenyuange edition is the first copy, produced in 1782.
The documentary also tells little-known stories about the museum itself, including design, foundation and earthquake-design measures.
Zhou's team visited celebrities and scholars in architecture, art and history to comment on the museum and its treasures.
To lighten the film, Zhou has also added romantic elements. Famous Taiwanese poet Yu Kwang-chung wrote poetry conveying his deep longing for the motherland over the decades.
Historical scenes are reenacted.
"We need to portray history and express the emotions of our predecessors," Zhou explains. "Reproducing historical scenes is a trend in documentaries today.
"The documentary is more than an on-screen summary of our past glory in culture and art," Zhou says. "It also shows our expectations for the future in which will gain even more inspiration and power from our brilliant culture heritage."
"The Palace Museum in Taipei," CCTV-1
January 12-24, Monday-Saturday, 10:30pm
