How they left the Forbidden City
It is a sad story of war and civil strife, but also an epic tale full of dedication, danger, sorrow and joy. We trace the exodus of the priceless collections with Cang Wei in Beijing and Eric Jou in Taipei piecing together the tapestry.
The evacuation started as invading forces threatened in the run-up to World War II. In September 1931, the Japanese army had already established its hold on Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province a mere 200 km away from Beijing.
The Kuomintang government was starting to get nervous about the safety of the capital and evacuation plans were mooted. But it would not be until January 1933 when Japanese forces broke through the strategic Shanhaiguan mountain pass in Hebei province that alarm bells started clanging urgently. The entire northeast of China was under threat.
