More than 14 million people visited the Palace Museum in Beijing last year, and now for the first time, Americans will have the opportunity to witness some of its treasures in the U.S.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, Va. Is exhibiting more than 200 treasures from the Forbidden City, aiming to provide foreigners an understanding of Chinese history, and is part of an unprecedented exchange between the two museums. 

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The exchange marks the first time that a U.S.-based museum is in collaboration with Beijing's Palace Museum to implement an exhibition showcasing Chinese art directly from China in the U.S.

The VMFA exhibition is currently showcasing a number of rare items, which most have never left China before, including paintings, furniture religious sculptures and even the Emperor Qianlong's throne. Foreigners will have the opportunity to view these treasures at the Virginia museum for a limited time.

"Americans know so little about China and Chinese artistic traditions. This is our way of helping to bridge the gap of understanding between our two peoples and may be as a process of doing that - bring our two countries together," said VMFA Director Alex Nyerges.

The Forbidden City consists of hundreds of buildings on more than 160 acres of land exemplifying traditional Chinese architecture. It was built in 1406 to 1420 and has since then influenced cultural development in East Asia. 

"Most people have no concept of the scale, or scope of the vastness of what we know as the Forbidden City. Just the scope of it is mindboggling. The largest and most intact palace in the world," Nyerges explained.

The Forbidden City exhibition in Virginia began Oct. 18 and will continue until Jan 11. It'll be the only opportunity for foreigners to be able to see such art outside of Beijing. 

TagsForbidden City, China Palace Museum, Chinese history, Chinese art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, rare treasures, Imperial throne