Exhibition of the Qing Palace Clocks in Summer Palace

The exhibition showcases western clocks collected by the Summer Palace during the reign of Emperor Qianlong till the late Qing dynasty and gives prominence to clocks collected from the end of the 19^th century to the early 20^th century. In terms of place of origin, France and the United States took the lead in the quantity, followed by UK and China. The exhibition boasts clocks made by such British master watchmakers as James Cox and Williams, celebrated French watchmaker Vincent and American Ansonia Company. Given that clocks collected in the Summer Palace were from the imperial palace during the Qing dynasty, the Summer Palace was widely acknowledged as a priceless storehouse of palace clocks second only to the Forbidden City and meanwhile as key testimony for later generations to know and study palace culture in the late Qing dynasty and modern Chinese and western clock-making techniques. Summer Palace Management Office launched the “Exhibition of the Qing Palace Clocks in Summer Palace” in collaboration with Haidian Museum and the Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture and therefore vigorously publicized the value of cultural relics and historical connotations of the Summer Palace.

From May 15 to August 18, 2015, the Summer Palace and Haidian Museum jointly held the exhibition entitled “Royal Relics—Exhibition of the Qing Palace Clocks in Summer Palace”.

From March 8 to May 8, 2016, the Summer Palace and the Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture jointly held the exhibition entitled “Flying Timepieces—Exhibition of the Qing Palace Clocks in Summer Palace”.