Two Museums, One Vision: Photography Connects Beijing’s Historic Palaces

Two iconic landmarks of Beijing, two museums, one shared story told through images. The Palace Museum and the Prince Kung’s Palace Museum have launched a joint exhibition that uses photography to bring Chinese cultural heritage closer to a wide public. The exhibition takes place simultaneously in two historic venues: the Palace of Prolonging Happiness within the Forbidden City and the Jiale Hall at Prince Kung’s Palace. It marks the first time that two historic sites have been connected through a coordinated visual narrative. On display are more than 200 photographs taken by photographers from the two museums. These are not simply architectural images: photography is used as a creative tool to show how the buildings have changed over time and how they continue to exist in the present. The images highlight details, materials, atmospheres and transformations, helping visitors read history in an immediate and accessible way. Through this visual journey, the exhibition traces a century of change and reveals the connection between imperial rituals, everyday life and contemporary sensibilities. Its goal is simple yet ambitious: to show that historical heritage does not belong only to the past, but can engage with the present and inspire new ways of looking at culture.