Ink and colour picture showing the head and shoulders of an elderly Chinese woman with her hair tied back. She is wearing green earings and a blue jacket decorated with gold leaves around the neck.

The Citi exhibition

China’s
hidden century  

Exhibition / -

Members free

#ChinasHiddenCentury

18 May – 8 October 2023

Daily: 10.00–17.00 (Fridays 20.30)
See full opening hours

Room 30

The Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery
Find Room 30

Tickets

Don't miss our early bird tickets. Adults from £16, Members and under 16s free.
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In a global first, the resilience and innovation of 19th-century China is revealed in a major new exhibition.

Between 1796 and 1912 Qing China endured numerous civil uprisings and foreign wars, with revolution ultimately bringing an end to some 2,000 years of dynastic rule and giving way to a modern Chinese republic. This period of violence and turmoil was also one of extraordinary creativity, driven by political, cultural and technological change. In the shadow of these events lie stories of remarkable individuals – at court, in armies, in booming cosmopolitan cities and on the global stage. 

The exhibition is underpinned by a four-year research project supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and led by the British Museum and London University, in collaboration with over 100 scholars from 14 countries.

Exquisite objects are brought together for the first time – from cloisonné vases given by the Last Emperor's court to King George and Queen Mary for their coronation in 1911, to a silk robe commissioned by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The show illuminates the lives of individuals – an empress, a dancer, a soldier, an artist, a housewife, a merchant and a diplomat. 

Visitors will glimpse the textures of life in 19th-century China through art, fashion, newspapers, furniture – even soup ingredients. Many people not only survived but thrived in this tumultuous world. New art forms, such as photography and lithographic printing, flourished while technology and transport – the telegraph, electricity, railways – transformed society.

This extraordinary exhibition will open a new page in public understanding of late imperial China.

Highlights

Ticket information

Members

Members don't need to book to visit this exhibition. Please show your Membership card to gain entry. If you're visiting before your Membership card arrives, bring your Membership purchase confirmation email to the Membership Desk in the Great Court on the day of your visit. We'll then issue a temporary card to access your on-site benefits.

Please see our Visiting as a Member page for more information on visiting the Museum.

Schools

Exhibition supporters

Lead supporter

City bank logo

We believe that by understanding the past, we all have the opportunity to define the future. In the Citi exhibition, China’s hidden century, the Museum uses its fabulous collection, together with loans from over 30 lenders, to bring to life, in a global first, the phenomenal cultural creativity of 19th-century China.  

As the world’s most global bank, our mission is to serve as a trusted partner to our clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. Success in our mission is only possible if we can continue to foster a culture of equality and inclusion that enables and encourages diversity of thinking.

Additional supporter

The Huo Family Foundation logo

The Huo Family Foundation's mission is to support education, communities and the pursuit of knowledge. Through its donations, the Foundation hopes to improve the prospects of individuals, and to support the work of organisations seeking to ensure a safe and successful future for all society. 

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