When high-tech e-readers meet the ancient Forbidden City

Amazon Kindle unveiled a cooperation project with the Palace Museum over the weekend, allowing customers to read a Kindle Paperwhite with a cover design inspired by the Forbidden City.

The “Kindle Paperwhite X The Forbidden City Culture” edition is now available on Amazon.cn and Alibaba’s Tmall. Four different covers are available, themed on talent and study, good luck, longevity, and prosperity. Each package costs 1,266 yuan, while each cover is priced at 388 yuan.

The cover meant to wish one to study seriously uses the Song-period painting “One thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains.” The painting, which shows a remote view of rivers and mountains with birds and fishing boats, was one of the collections at the Palace Museum.

For the one wishing longevity, the cover uses the design of clouds and red-crowned cranes of official uniforms during the Qing Dynasty. Similarly, the Qing-period dragon pattern on the rosewood throne on the cover is for good luck, while the cover with the peony patterns from royal concubines’ head decorations in the Qing Dynasty symbolizes prosperity.