Exactly what cultural relics does the Forbidden City actually have? A clear answer will soon be provided.

The National Palace Museum will soon publish information on the collection of cultural relics in the museum, according to Zheng Xinmiao, deputy director of China's Ministry of Culture, and president of the National Palace Museum, in a meeting on Thursday.

"We will print a list of the 1,500,000 cultural relics in the Forbidden City for public use" said Zheng. "Due to previously limited knowledge, we used to only consider traditional china and porcelain as cultural relics, but the 2,000 paintings by emperors and empresses should be listed too."

"The publishing of the list will help people in their studies and research. Also, we'll have societal supervision, showing a responsible attitude towards national treasures."
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(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2006)