Exhibition featuring live goldfish opens in Forbidden City

Goldfish are on display at the Palace of Prolonging Happiness, also known as the Yanxi Palace, during an exhibition titled "Leisurely Bliss: Goldfish-themed Artifacts of the Palace Museum Collection" in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2019. Opening Tuesday at the Palace Museum, the exhibition shows 34 goldfish-related cultural relics from the collection of the Palace Museum together with nearly 200 real goldfish in water tanks. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)

BEIJING, July 30 -- An exhibition showcasing live goldfish and goldfish-themed cultural relics kicks off in the Forbidden City Tuesday.

Nearly 200 goldfish of 42 species from Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Wuhan and other places will be introduced to audiences, many of which are of rare species.

Thirty-four goldfish-themed cultural relics from the Palace Museum's collection are on display with live goldfish, in order to let audiences appreciate the beautiful creatures while learning about its culture.

"Jinyu," the Chinese term for "goldfish," is a homonym of the term "gold and jade" in Chinese, which makes goldfish a favourite theme in Chinese art to convey people's aspiration for a better life.

The Forbidden City has a long history with goldfish, with a total of 279 species of goldfish kept inside at its peak.

The live goldfish section of the exhibition will run until Aug. 11, while the cultural relics section will last until Aug. 30. Visitors with tickets to the Palace Museum can enjoy the exhibition free of charge.