The Palace Museum and Prince Kung’s Palace Museum jointly unveiled an exhibition titled “Flourishing Times, New Beginnings: A Visual Chronicle from Cultural Heritage to Enriched Life” on Tuesday. The exhibition, held at the Palace of Prolonging Happiness (Yanxi gong) of the Palace Museum and the Jiale Hall at Prince Kung’s Palace Museum, is the first to connect two historic sites through a coordinated photographic narrative. More than 200 selected works by the two museums’ photographers form a dialogue between the two sites. Instead of simply documenting architecture, the exhibition explores the medium of photography — including techniques, materials, and expressive potential — to create a multidimensional, cross-disciplinary space for interpreting cultural heritage. It traces a century of architectural change and reveals how historic sites continue to resonate with contemporary life.

Together, the Palace Museum and Prince Kung’s Palace Museum show how ancient architecture of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties embodied both strict ritual order and the aesthetics of daily life. While using photography to reveal the beauty of classical architecture, the exhibition also leverages uses “image archaeology” to uncover how these buildings transformed in appearance while maintaining their underlying cultural spirit. It traces the deeper cultural connotation that connects them — from imperial ceremonies to humanistic charm, from the legacy of history to the revival of tradition.

Through this joint exhibition, the Palace Museum and Prince Kung’s Palace Museum aim to build a bridge connecting viewers with photography and history. Beyond presenting the artistic appeal of the two iconic imperial sites, the exhibition invites visitors to consider how historical heritage can coexist with modern life — and how these “buildings that speak” may continue to speak today, linking past and future and opening up new possibilities for cultural expression.