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Palace Museum once becomes a real movie set in the 1980s
Updated: Oct 17, 2025
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A first for the Palace Museum: Opening its doors for a large-scale film shoot
In 1986, Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci (1941-2018) was granted rare permission to film The Last Emperor inside the Forbidden City in Beijing.
The movie tells the extraordinary 60-year journey of Puyi (1906-67), China's last emperor, from the imperial throne to ordinary life. Released in 1987, it went on to win Best Picture at the 60th Academy Awards in 1988.
