Forbidden City birthday

The Forbidden City, though it was closed to the public for a while during the pandemic, is still a sensation.
虽然因疫情原因闭馆了一段时间，故宫依旧热度不减。

Starting from April 5, a two-day live broadcast of the Forbidden City, also known as Palace Museum, has received more than 34 million views on Xinhuanet’s cloud livestreaming service.
从4月5日起，故宫（又名故宫博物院）在新华社云直播平台上进行了为期两天的直播，观看量已超过3400万。

Once the area of emperors and the royal court, the Forbidden City celebrates its 600th birthday this year. Built in 1420, the palace recorded lives of important people through various relics and documents. The museum can provide a large amount of valuable material for today’s historical research, as well as inspiration for literature and entertainment.
曾是皇家宫廷的故宫今年迎来了600岁生日。建于1420年的故宫通过各式各样的遗迹与文件记录下了许多重要人物的生活。故宫博物院为如今的历史研究与文艺创作提供了大量珍贵物料资料和灵感。

Apart from giving people a glimpse of history, the Forbidden City is also creative in terms of marketing. Over the last decade, the museum has produced more than 10,000 cultural products featuring the imperial palace and its exhibits, ranging from fans, notebooks to apps and cosmetics.
除了令人们得以一窥历史之外，故宫在市场营销方面也别出心裁。在过去的十年间，故宫博物院制作了1万多件以皇家宫殿及其展品为主题的文创产品，包括扇子、笔记本、应用软件、化妆品等等。

The most popular products are ones that feature the royal cats. The items are inspired by the real cats who call the Palace Museum home. More than 200 cats are living in the palace where they are being well cared for. These furry guys often roam around idly and pose adorably to the delight of visitors, who occasionally can interact with them.
其中最受欢迎的是御猫主题的产品。这些产品以生活在故宫中的真猫为设计灵感。目前共有200多只猫生活在故宫中，被照顾有加它们都得到了很好的照顾。这些毛茸茸的小家伙常常在宫里闲逛，摆出萌态逗游客开心，游客们偶尔还能与御猫们进行互动。

“The fundamental reason why the Palace Museum has become so popular among people is that it strikes the right balance between preserving history, sharing knowledge, and providing interesting interactive displays,” Shan Jixiang, former director and curator of the museum, told China Daily.
“故宫博物院如此受到大家欢迎，根本原因在于它在保留历史、分享知识以及提供趣味互动性展览方面找到了恰当的平衡，”故宫博物院前院长单霁翔在接受《中国日报》采访时如此表示。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一790期