中美元首游故宫参观了哪儿? Why Forbidden City was first on Trump's China tour

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan welcomed visiting US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump at the Forbidden City in Beijing on Wednesday. 

国家主席习近平和夫人彭丽媛今天下午在故宫博物院迎接来华进行国事访问的美国总统特朗普和夫人梅拉尼娅。

It is President Trump’s first state visit to China, and the third meeting between the two leaders. Ahead of the meeting, China promised to welcome the visiting US President with a “state visit-plus” experience.

在故宫他们一起游览了哪些地方？这些地方都有哪些不为人知的小故事？有文字，有视频，小编接下来就为你重点介绍两位元首今天在故宫游览的两个神秘地点！

故宫文物医院

The Imperial Palace 

Heritage Conservation Center

The Forbidden City was home to China’s royal families for 500 years, from 1420 to 1912. Today, it is a house for more than 1.8 million historical artefacts. The Palace Museum has a team of specialists working to protect all these valuable items, and the Imperial Palace Heritage Conservation Center, informally called the “Relic Hospital”, opened in the grounds in 2016.

The Relic Hospital covering 13,000 square meters is staffed by more than 200 experts and packed with state-of-the-art devices. It is the most advanced relic restoration workshop in China. 

The Relic Hospital repairs architectural items, sculptures, as well as ancient calligraphies and paintings. Here, experts combine traditional methods and modern technology in restoration work, including X-ray machines, hyperspectral scanning, 3D printing and even Google Glass smart eyewear.

The restoration process is complicated. Taking carved bricks from the floor of the emperor’s bedroom as an example, it takes a worker a whole week to manually sculpt a brick of around 10 square centimeters to look like the original.

The museum has been working with the US World Monuments Fund (WMF) to restore its cultural relics for over 15 years, in a shining example of China-US cooperation.

Juanqinzhai, a secret palace built under Emperor Qianlong’s orders (1711-1799) for his retirement, was sealed off for more than a century and severely damaged by worms and fading. The building is regarded as the most exquisite and mysterious structure in the palace.

Due to a lack of experience and technology, the Palace Museum approached the WMF in 2001. After seven years of maintenance, the luxurious retreat, the pinnacle of Chinese interior design and Qianlong’s inner world, was ready to be viewed again. 

Broadcaster BSkyB dedicated an episode of its “Masterpieces” series to the Emperor’s Secret Garden in 2010. It shows the secrets of the garden’s traditional craftsmanship and the modern conservation efforts rejuvenating Juanqinzhai to its early golden days.

This China-US partnership has settled a set of standards which can be applied and referenced in the future. 

China is determined to protect its cultural relics and has made clear its willingness to use technology and international cooperation for this mission.

畅音阁

The Changyin Pavilion

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=p05026oixog&width=500&height=375&auto=0The two leaders and their wives watched three operas at the Changyin Pavilion, the largest stage of the ancient palace complex sitting at the heart of the Chinese capital, Beijing.

Where is Changyin Pavilion?

It is only months after music and opera were heard again in the Changyin Pavilion after over a century away. 

The pavilion was only reopened in September this year, after undergoing a thorough renovation, which aims to bring the ancient cultural relic back to life. 

The Changyin Pavilion, built from 1772 to 1776 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, is the stage of a royal theater. The theater includes three structures: the stage at Changyin Pavilion, the auditorium in the Yueshi Building and the backstage is inside the Banxi Building, all located in Ningshou Palace - also known as the Qianlong Garden - which is in the northeast of the Forbidden City's inner court.

The Changyin Pavilion is a five-story stage, with three stories above ground and two underground. The total area is more than 680 square meters. It is equipped with wells, a basement and winches, all hidden under the wooden floor.

Peking Opera: 

the essence of the Chinese culture

Long ago, watching opera was one of the main forms of entertainment in the Forbidden City. During the Qing Dynasty, special institutions were set up to take care of opera training and performing in the court. Folk troupes were also occasionally invited to perform for the rulers.

However, Peking Opera - an artistic form that was being formed then - soon became the most welcomed genre at that time, and after it took off in the court, it quickly became popular across the whole country.

By the early 20th century, it was already in the heyday, and had several diversified schools.

Great masters also started to spring up, with Mei Lanfang being among the leading ones. He was the founder of the renowned Mei School, which is known for the performances of female leading roles in Peking Opera. 

“The Drunken Concubine” is a masterpiece by Mei Lanfang, who polished and refined an old opera, taking it to new heights. 

The piece is based on the love story of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and his favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan. It depicted a drunken and lonely Yuhuan admiring the moon after the emperor failed to meet her appointment.

The Mei School is characterized by mellow and magnificent singing, which could always bring great visual and aural enjoyment for the audience. 

In recent years, as China has put more effort into reviving its traditional culture and building cultural confidence among its people, Peking Opera has found a new chance to rejuvenate and thrive. 

An increasing number of young people have become interested in the ancient art form, and many of them are foreigners traveling from far away, just for a chance to get closer to the Peking Opera.