Working in the Palace Museum where visitors are constantly told not to touch the invaluable cultural artifacts, Qu Feng spends every day in restoring treasures dating back hundreds of years.
Qu works for the Palace Museum's conservation department, which is responsible for the conservation, restoration and research of over 1.8 million cultural treasures.
Stories of treasured Chinese antiques and artifacts given a new lease of life emerge constantly from his busy department.
Qu and his colleagues are now better known as the "masters in the Forbidden City."
MASTERS IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY
Qu, head of the department's wood conservation studio, is working on a piece called "Plum Recess," a wooden plaque inlaid with gold wire and two jade characters.
The plaque, made during Emperor Qianlong's reign (1736-1795), once hung inside the Forbidden City's Hall of Mental Cultivation, where emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) resided and handled state affairs.
When the hall was closed for a four-year renovation, the plaque was removed for conservation.
Some of the plaque's jade had fallen off; sticking it back proved far more difficult than anyone expected.
Qu had to use a special type of wax, made of beewax and rosin, as other adhesives could corrode the jade over time. The recipe to produce this special wax had once been lost, and the museum depended exclusively on the wax it had in stock.
After years of effort, the conservation department managed to reconstruct the recipe through chemical analysis.
However, even with all the right ingredients on hand, Qu and his team still had to wait, as the old, frail plaque and its frame had been partially damaged by expansion and contraction caused by heat.
"If it is restored now [in winter], thermal expansion may cause even greater damage next summer," Qu said.
Earlier this year, "Masters in the Forbidden City," a documentary series that profiled the work of the museum conservationists, became a surprise online hit. It has racked up over six million views and scored an impressive rating of 9.5/10 on a major video-streaming website in China.
A film version was released on Dec. 16, on the heels of the TV series' success.
The conviction, inner peace and persistence of the technicians have made them heroes among many of China's post-80s and post-90s generations.
SPIRIT OF CRAFTSMANSHIP
According to Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, the documentary's popularity resulted in a surge of applications for jobs with the restoration team.
This year the museum received 15,000 job applications for 20 vacancies.
However, becoming a qualified conservation worker takes time.
