Editor's note: Archaeologists at Beijing's Palace Museum have been excavating the Imperial Workshops site within the Forbidden City since October 2020, uncovering relics from five historical periods spanning the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

The exhibition, "Beneath the Ninefold Walls: Archaeological Discoveries from the Imperial Workshops Site in the Forbidden City," showcases 166 of these artifacts, offering fresh insights into the architectural evolution and cultural heritage of the Forbidden City.

The show runs through Feb. 8 at the Palace Museum.

Visitors examine a stratigraphic section model of the Imperial Workshops site at the "Beneath the Ninefold Walls: Archaeological Discoveries from the Imperial Workshops Site in the Forbidden City" exhibition at the Palace Museum in Beijing, Nov. 5, 2025. [Photo by Wang Yiming/China.org.cn]