Beijing: Exhibition of Foreign Cultural Relics in the Summer Palace.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace became an important political, cultural, and diplomatic center outside the Forbidden City. Especially after the 28th year of Guangxu (1902), Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu often received foreign envoys and their families. Foreign envoys presented various Western-style treasures to Empress Dowager Cixi. At the same time, to cater to the habits of foreigners, Western-style furniture, Western food, and Western music were specially prepared in the Summer Palace. At this time, Western objects became a court fashion, and princes and ministers also searched for various Western objects as birthday gifts for Cixi and Guangxu. The foreign cultural relics in the Summer Palace are all old collections of the Qing Palace, mainly from foreign envoys, official purchases, and birthday gifts. The types include Western porcelain, glassware, clocks, cloisonné, cosmetics, furniture, musical instruments, Western cars, ships, etc., covering all aspects of court life. The places of origin include the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Germany, Austria, the United States, and other countries, and the era is about the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. These foreign cultural relics reflect the advanced achievements of Eastern and Western science and technology and craftsmanship at that time and reflect the typical court fashion in the late Qing Dynasty.