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Juanqinzhai and the Qianlong Garden, the Forbidden City, Beijing

The Qianlong Emperor’s Juanqinzhai (Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service), an 18th-century jewel box tucked away in the northeast quadrant of the Forbidden City, is part of a decade-long, multimillion-dollar conservation initiative undertaken by the World Monuments Fund in partnership with the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Completion of the five-year restoration project was celebrated in November 2008. Juanqinzhai will be open to the public on a limited basis beginning in 2009.

The two-story studio and its associated gardens and pavilions were commissioned by Qianlong, the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty, in 1771 for his planned retirement in 1796. The Qianlong Emperor had vowed that “if the Heavens blessed him to be on the throne for 60 years,” he would retire out of respect so as not to reign longer than his beloved grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, China’s longest-reigning ruler.

The layout of the Qianlong District reflects that of the Forbidden City itself, with a central north-south axis and spaces dedicated to ceremony, living, and leisure. It is one of the largest areas in the Forbidden City to remain relatively untouched since imperial times.

Within the Studio, walls and screens are adorned with fine bamboo marquetry and white jade cartouches, trompe l’oeil paintings grace the walls and ceilings, and imperial sitting areas are upholstered in embroidered silk. The murals exhibit a clear Western influence and use of perspective that is unique in the Forbidden City and in China.

The restoration of all 27 structures of the Qianlong Garden is WMF’s most comprehensive project and the Palace Museum’s most significant partnership with an international organization for a historic site in the Forbidden City.

The restoration is bringing together resources and expertise from around the world in the fields of conservation, architecture, technical and craftsmanship training, and museum methodologies (planning, education, and interpretation). WMF and the Palace Museum expect this work to serve as a learning laboratory whose lessons can be applied in other areas of the Forbidden City and even elsewhere in China.

Visitors—who had only limited access to part of the Garden complex—will soon be able to enjoy the historic interiors and the emperor’s private garden, which have never been fully open to the public.