BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A key section of Beijing's famed Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City that offers a glimpse into the daily workings of power in late imperial China, reopened on Friday after a decade-long renovation. Thousands of visitors flocked to see it on its first day.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin dian), first constructed in 1537 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), served as the residence and venue for daily state affairs for several rulers during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

As the crown jewel of China's cultural heritage, the Palace Museum is home to countless national treasures and holds a singular position in preservation efforts.

The reopened historic building and its cultural relics have undergone nearly a decade of research-based conservation and systematic restoration.

A total of 1,020 exhibits are on display in the hall, according to Wen Ming, deputy director of the Palace Museum's palace history department.

Except for light-sensitive relics such as silk textiles, calligraphy, paintings, inscribed plaques and couplets, all the exhibits on display are original items, Wen said.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation owes much of its fame to its rooms in the Western Warmth Chamber (Xinuan ge), where Qing emperors received ministers and reviewed state reports.

Yet what piques visitors' curiosity even more is a royal private study, the Hall of Three Rarities (Sanxi tang), tucked into a modest adjoining room and named for having housed three legendary calligraphy scrolls dating back roughly 1,600 years.

According to the Palace Museum, the current exhibition in the Hall of Mental Cultivation faithfully reflects its original historical layout.

Visitors can glimpse Emperor Yongzheng's handwriting on a plaque above the throne in the central hall, while the couplets in a western room have been restored. The Hall of Three Rarities has also been recreated to match its documented appearance from over 200 years ago.

The conservation project, launched in 2015, emphasized in-depth research before any restoration work, setting a precedent for similar projects in the Palace Museum.

"We follow the principles of preserving the relics' original state and minimal intervention," said Zhao Peng, head of the ancient architecture department at the Palace Museum.

During conservation, the hall's polychrome paintings were mostly kept intact, with minor damage reinforced and heavily damaged areas carefully retouched. Large wooden beams were strengthened with carbon fiber, avoiding large-scale replacement, said Zhao.

A digital exhibition of the Hall of Mental Cultivation will also go live, where visitors can "experience" a traditional ceremony at the start of the year through interactive devices and virtually witness how an emperor wrote in prayer for peace.

SEA OF VISITORS

At dawn, the entrance to the Palace Museum was already packed with people. Some had arrived at the stroke of midnight, eager to claim a spot at the front of the line for the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

One such visitor was a man surnamed Wei from neighboring province of Hebei. He said he had been hopping to keep warm following a chilly, sleepless night, and when the gates opened at 8:30 a.m., he ran all the way to the hall.

"It's my first time here, and every corner leaves a deep impression. Even through the glass, you can clearly feel the weight of history," Wei said.

Another visitor, surnamed Cai, said that the restored interiors of the hall had exceeded all his expectations. "The caisson ceiling alone is breathtaking," he said, noting that he had been impressed by the staging and displays inside the Hall of Three Rarities, especially the "beautifully crafted" writing tools.

In recent years, rising interest in culture and history has fueled a surge in museum attendance across China. Museums in the country welcomed nearly 86.3 million visitors during the eight-day combined National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in October -- an increase of 11.42 million compared with the National Day holiday in 2024. The country is now home to over 7,000 registered museums, more than 90 percent of which offer free admission.

Once out-of-bounds for the public, the Forbidden City has now become one of China's most popular cultural landmarks, receiving over 17 million visitors this year alone.

And with the Hall of Mental Cultivation reopening to the public, visitors now have yet another reason to explore the Palace Museum. "There's always more to see and endless stories to uncover here," one visitor said. ■