[Photo via the Palace Museum]

An exhibition jointly held by the Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles, focusing on the exchanges between China and France in the 17th and 18th centuries, kicked off on Monday in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The exhibition, themed "The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles," is a key project in the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism in 2024, which marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France.

The second half of the 17th century and the 18th century are regarded as a golden age for exchanges between the Chinese and French courts and cultural exchanges between the two countries. The exhibition features about 200 works from the collections of the two museums and other institutions to illustrate the political and cultural relationship between China and France during the period.

The exhibition is open to the public until June 30.

During the opening ceremony, the Palace Museum signed strategic cooperation agreements with the Palace of Versailles and the Paris-based Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts.