Taipei museum to borrow artifacts from mainland

Taipei's Palace Museum will borrow artifacts from the Beijing-based Palace Museum for an exhibition scheduled for October, the head of the Taipei museum said Monday.

Feng Ming-chu, director of Taipei's Palace Museum, said she will discuss the request with Shan Jixiang, head of the mainland-based Palace Museum, during her ongoing visit to Beijing.

The artifacts are being sought for an exhibition entitled "The Artistic Taste of Emperor Qian Long," which is scheduled for October at the Taipei museum, she said.

Taipei's Palace Museum is known for its rich collection of artifacts that were removed from the Palace Museum in Beijing in the 1930s.

The collection was later transported to Taiwan by the Kuomintang government between late 1948 and early 1949 at the end of a failed civil war with communist forces.

Ties have improved markedly between the museums, with the curators of both institutions exchanging their first visits in 2009.

Feng said a plan to make the Taipei museum's collection accessible to mainland history buffs through digital displays will also be discussed during her visit.

She said the curators will also discuss plans for exhibitions scheduled to mark the upcoming 90th founding anniversary of the Palace Museum in 2015.