Shanxi exhibition of Yongle Palace

An exhibition of Yongle Palace's Protection and Inheritance kicked off on Saturday in Shanxi Museum in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.

The exhibition displays more than 280 items that show cultural and artistic charm of Yongle Palace.

It also uses virtual reality and other technology to make the exhibition be interactive, including a 3D-printing replica of Heavenly Court, or Chaoyuan Tuin Chinese.

Located in Ruicheng, a county in the province, Yongle Palace is one of the top three Taoist temples in the country, along with Chongyang Palace in Shanxi and Baiyun Guan in Beijing.

Yongle Palace, on which construction started in 1247, was built to worship Lyu Dongbin (born in 796), the founder of the Taoist mainstream Quanzhen Sect. The construction, spanning 110 years during the Mongolian reign in North China and the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), included the creation of beautiful Taoist murals.

Murals covering more than 1,005 square meters have been preserved there. Among numerous murals in the palace, the Painting of Heavenly Court is the best known.

The exhibition will last to mid-October.