[Photo provided to China Daily]

There, the exhibits, ranging from paintings and other art pieces to furniture and plaques hang above the thrones in the hall.

Articles like imperial seals and stationery are also on display.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation was built in 1537 within the inner court of the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The hall was the residence of eight Qing rulers, starting with Emperor Yongzheng (1722-35) and ending with Puyi (1906-67), who is best known in the West for the Oscar-winning biographic film The Last Emperor by Italian master Bernardo Bertolucci.

The hall takes its name from a line in The Chapter of Dedication by third-century (BC) Chinese philosopher Mencius, which says: "Leading a frugal life is the best way to cultivate the mind".

The exhibition portrays the Central Hall where the emperors received their ministers, the East Warmth Chamber where the Empress Dowager Cixi attended to the affairs of state from behind a curtain, and the West Warmth Chamber, from which Emperor Yongzheng worked.

"It (the hall) was not only a living room, but the emperors' 'home office'," says Tang Hing-sun, a curator of the exhibition from Hong Kong Museum of Art.