BEIJING—A collection of Chinese artwork that has been tucked away for decades in a long-forgotten corner of the Forbidden City will soon be leaving the country for the first time.
The $1.5 million exhibition will arrive in the U.S. next month for a tour that will show a more intimate side of a country often defined by vastness and control.
The first stop on the tour will be the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, followed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The thrones, large-scale paintings and decor belonged to China's last emperor. Few people have entered Qianlong's courtyards since he was forced out of the Forbidden City in 1924, and it will take more years of work until the public can come inside.
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