Photo: Courtesy of Palace Museum

A commemorative event marking the 90th anniversary of the evacuation of the Palace Museum collection during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) is set to commence Thursday in Shanghai. 

The Long March of the National Treasures: An Exhibition Commemorating the Southward Evacuation of the Palace Museum's Artifacts at the Shanghai History Museum will commemorate the 90th anniversary of this historic southward evacuation.

The exhibition is jointly presented by the Palace Museum of Beijing and the People's Daily National Humanities History magazine.

It primarily showcases historical materials and research findings related to the southward evacuation of the Palace Museum's collection of artifacts. After talking to historical witnesses and returning to actual locations, the exhibition uses diverse display methods to recreate the historical journey of the evacuation, inviting visitors to engage in a dialogue spanning 90 years.

Photo: Courtesy of Palace Museum

In January 1933, as the Japanese army occupied Shanhai Pass, the situation in North China became precarious. The Palace Museum's Executive Board convened an emergency meeting and decided to select important artifacts for evacuation to the south of China. From February 7 to May 23, the museum's artifacts were evacuated to Shanghai in five shipments, totaling 13,427 crates and 64 packages.

The evacuated artifacts included significant bronze wares, famous calligraphy works and paintings like Timely Clearing After Snowfall by Wang Xizhi, and Listening to a Zither by Zhao Ji, or Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), as well as precious ancient texts such as the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries (Siku Quanshu).

Additionally, 5,414 boxes from the National Museum of Art (Guwu chenliesuo), 640 crates and eight packages plus eight items from the Summer Palace, and 11 boxes of stone drums from the Imperial College (Guozijian)were also evacuated to Shanghai for preservation.

Most of the evacuated artifacts returned north in September 1958.

Shanghai was a significant storage place for the evacuated Palace Museum collection. The exhibition will present a chronology of the collection's southward evacuation to Shanghai, intertwining the history of the evacuation with the collective memory of Shanghai.

The exhibition will creatively interpret representative evacuated artifacts by digital technology such as multimedia imaging and interactive features, narrating the history of the evacuation and showcasing the charm of national treasures with the aim to offer a unique cultural feast to visitors.

The exhibition will run until March 29, 2024, and will subsequently tour to Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, Beijing and other cities across China.

The organizers have also prepared a wealth of supporting content for the exhibition, including academic seminars, cultural lectures, research classes, and other activities to comprehensively interpret those turbulent years associated with the fate of the nation and its memories.