Relic Hospital

by+Li+Zhuoxi

The Palace Museum （Forbid- den City） recently established the Imperial Palace Heritage Conservation Center， informally called the “Relic Hospital.” With a floor space of 13，000 square meters， it has the most advanced relic restoration workshops in China.

Construction of the “hospital” broke ground on April 12， 2014， and it began operation on December 29， 2016. It features two floors including an underground basement and six districts， namely Scientific and Technological Conservation， Analysis and Detection， Restoration of Calligraphy and Paintings， General Technical Restoration， General Restoration of Arts and Crafts， and Restoration of Metal Relics and Timepieces. Functionally， it operates through three divisions： Relic Tech Lab， Relic Restoration Studio， and Relic Protection Management and Exhibition.

“The process of relic restoration is not unlike a patient going to see a doctor in hospital，”illustrates an expert from the conservation center. “First， relic custody departments register the relics that need to be restored or maintained. Then， they must be diagnosed with sophisticated devices such as special computed tomography （CT） scanners， micro-examination equipment， material analysis instruments， and nondestructive inspection equipment. ‘Doctors write ‘prescriptions， and the ‘patients are transferred to relevant divisions for restoration and treatment. The ‘hospital maintains detailed records like a persons medical history. The relics are released to return home after restoration.”

In the near future， the relic hospital will open to the public， enabling interested people to observe the entire restoration process.