Museum delegation from Beijing arrives at Taipei

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-02 09:35

TAIPEI -- A delegation from the Palace Museum in Beijing, headed by the museum director Zheng Xinmiao, arrived here Sunday to visit the "National Palace Museum" in Taiwan.

Zheng's arrival marks the first-ever high-level exchange visits between the two museums' directors since a rich collection of relics from Beijing's former Imperial Palace, or the Forbidden City, were transferred to the island 60 years ago.

"The cultural relics of the Forbidden City are a symbol of the Chinese nation and fruits of our cultural heritage," said Zheng Xinmiao at the welcoming ceremony.

"There is no museums like the two in Beijing and Taipei that share such a close reciprocal relation," he said.

Chou said at the ceremony that "most of the cultural relics in our museum came from the Palace Museum in Beijing. They have been carefully preserved since they arrived were."

Chou said it was of great importance for the two museums to exchange professional experiences. "Both sides could gain benefits through sincere cooperation."

The mainland delegation will visit the "National Palace Museum" and hold symposium with their Taipei counterparts during their visit. They planned to return to Beijing on March 4.

The visit came two weeks after the Taipei Museum's delegation, headed by the museum director Chou Kung-shin, visited Beijing and Shanghai from Feb. 14 to Feb. 19.

During Chou's visit, she and her mainland counterparts signed agreements to carry out cooperation in academic research, exhibits and personnel exchanges.