2010-06-02 21:18

BEIJING - Beijing's Palace Museum and Taiwan's National Palace Museum will hold a series of events this month to commemorate the saving of millions of cultural relics from the invading Japanese in the 1930s and 1940s.

Experts from the two museums will stop at more than 11 cities along the route taken by the Chinese guardians who moved the items from Beijing to safety in the south of the country.

From June 3 to 18, the group would visit surviving witnesses of the event, collect documentary and video materials, and hold symposiums, said Beijing Palace Museum spokesman Li Wenru at a news conference Wednesday.

The route would include Zhengzhou city in Henan province, Xi'an in Shaanxi, and Chengdu, Chongqing, Changsha and Guizhou, said Li.

"The success of this heritage transfer was considered a miracle at the time, when fascism was running rampant across the nation," Li said.

"The launch of the tour will raise awareness of the event among Chinese and commemorate the national spirit of historical preservation."

The tour would also mark the 85th founding anniversary of the Beijing Palace Museum and 65th anniversary of the victory over the Japanese occupation.

The tour was expected to result in a series of reports, exhibitions and documentaries, Li said.