Commemorative Coupons Issued to Mark Forbidden City’s 600th Anniversary

The Palace Museum and the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation jointly issued on Aug. 18 a set of commemorative coupons to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City.

Established in 1420, the Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, was the imperial palace and the political center of the Chinese Government for more than 500 years from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

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The recently issued coupons feature the most symbolic elements to demonstrate the profound history of the Forbidden City. The main view on the front side is the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Dian), also featuring a bird’s-eye view of the whole Forbidden City. On the back, there’s the first dragon of the Nine-dragon Screen (Jiulong Bi), which is a porcelain screen with nine coiling dragons among the clouds and waves. Other classic elements include a sundial, glazed brick carving, and a turtle pattern.

The coupons applied more than ten design and printing techniques and crafts, such as hand-engraved gravure, various fluorescence overprints, microprinting, and augmented reality (AR). The water ripples, which were overprinted using four different colors, show a gorgeous colored effect under fluorescent light.

The Palace Museum has planned a series of activities in celebration of the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City since 2019. In addition, China’s central bank also issued a set of gold and silver commemorative coins in early August.