President Xi Jinping has called for giving full play to the role of the Palace Museum and turning it into an important window for the world to better understand Chinese civilization and the Chinese nation, as he visited an exhibition marking the museum's 100th founding anniversary on Monday.

Once China's imperial palace from 1420 to 1911, and also known as the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum was established in October 1925, when it opened to the public.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived at the Palace Museum in Beijing at 10 am to visit the centennial exhibition.

More than 200 carefully selected exhibits, including paintings, calligraphy, jade, bronzeware, gold artifacts, porcelain and architectural components, are on display, bearing witness to the splendid history and unbroken cultural lineage of the Chinese nation.

Xi listened attentively to the explanations during his visit, pausing from time to time to observe the exhibits closely and inquire about relevant details.

He said that the Palace Museum embodies the cultural genes of the Chinese nation and stands as a hallmark of Chinese civilization.

Protecting the Palace Museum well and giving full play to its role is a matter of national importance and a glorious mission for those who work at the museum, he said.

Xi encouraged the Palace Museum, which is at a new starting point in its centennial journey, to carry forward its fine traditions, stay committed to the principle that cultural relics belong to and serve the people, and further strengthen the protection and restoration of cultural relics.

He also called for efforts to enhance adaptive utilization of cultural relics, making the Palace Museum an important base for patriotic education and a key window through which the world can gain a deeper understanding of Chinese civilization and the Chinese people.

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and Li Shulei, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, also visited the exhibition.

Titled A Century of Stewardship: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum, the exhibition is in three parts: "A Lineage of Civilization", "A Century of Endeavor" and "Myriad Visions of Splendor". It opened on Sept 30 and will run until the year's end.

Wang Kaihao contributed to this story.