Through precious documents and manuscripts, a section of the exhibition is designed to show how generations of State leaders and conservators have protected the two heritage sites from war, desert heat and aridity in Dunhuang and aging processes of relics.

This highlighted exhibition also marks a comeback decades in the making. In 1951, a widely influential exhibition on the Mogao Caves was held in the Meridian Gate Galleries, which was visited by then-premier Zhou Enlai and many key cultural figures.

"Dunhuang and the Forbidden City are like a pair of cultural ambassadors," said Wang Xudong, director of the Palace Museum. "Through their relics, they enable us to have a glimpse of ever-evolving and rich tangible cultures in China as well as Chinese people's psychological pursuits throughout history."

wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn