No trip to Beijing can be considered complete with visiting the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The problem is, some of you may agree, is that no one warns you to be prepared to ignore your aching legs from the long walks and to brave the weather as some of the best parts can only be accessed without covered walkways.

If you want your culture fix without going to great pains (literally), make the short trip across Singapore to the Asian Civilisations Museum.

The Kangxi Emperor: Treasures From The Forbidden City Exhibition which has been extended till 28 June, offers a rich slice of life in ancient imperial China.

Jointly organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) and The Palace Museum, Beijing, the exhibition features 95 treasures of Chinese imperial art, including 80 artifacts from the collection of The Palace Museum in Beijing.

“We had been hoping to extend the exhibition over the June school holidays and are extremely glad that The Palace Museum has now generously agreed to the extension,” said Dr Kenson Kwok, Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

So far more than 75,000 people have visited the exhibition which is the only in the region as it is the first time that Beijing’s Palace Museum has worked with any museum or venue in Southeast Asia to exhibit its collection.

“From the beginning, we felt that Kangxi would have a lot to offer our visitors, both in terms of his multifaceted personality and the fantastic exhibits we could use to tell his story” said Dr Kwok.

At the age of eight, Kangxi ascended the throne and reigned for 61 years, making him one of China’s longest ruling emperors.

Apart from being a skilled politician, Kangxi also excelled as a warrior.

This facet can be seen in exhibits such as the Imperial Suit of Armour embellished with gold, fur and pearls.

The armour is also a good insight into how the early Chinese fashioned a wearable yet protective suit worn by the emperor during several tours around China to visit troops.

The Chinese empire expanded during the rule of Kangxi (1662 – 1722) as the child emperor grew into a wise administrator and scholar.

Reflecting the peace and prosperity of the era are imperial artifacts, from carved brushpot, to jade seals and bowls and vases.

What is definitely an eye-opener into the contribution made by the emperor as a patron of the arts and sciences is a Twelve Digit Calculator.

Adapted from a device invented by a French scientist and introduced by Jesuit missionaries to the emperor, the ancient calculator uses twelve discs to represent different numeric place (tens, hundreds, thousands etc) and a set of interlocking gears that work with a pin that will rotate to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Other glimpses into of the emperor’s great regard for knowledge and discovery include Kangxi’s geometry and cartography set, the first terrestrial globe of a round earth and an arc quadrant which was used to measure the angle of celestial bodies like the sun in the sky, in relation to the horizon.

There are guided tours in English, Mandarin and Japanese for the exhibition which also have on display an imperial robe and portraits of Kangxi as well as members of the royal family.

The journey into the past will not only leave you amazed, but with a deeper understanding into why Kangxi was China’s most well-loved emperors.

- CNA/sf