The Palace Museum in Beijing will celebrate its 90th anniversary next month, and a batch of rare treasures will meet public eye in this rare viewing.

The Hall of Martial Valor and Palace of Prolonging Happiness (Yanxi gong) recently opened a special exhibition displaying nearly 300 pieces of treasures including paintings Along the River During the Qingming Festival and Five Oxen, and calligraphy piece Letter to Boyuan.

These treasures are hardly ever shown to the public. To better understand what's on display, here are 10 pieces of treasures among exhibited items that are highly recommended.

1. Along the River During the Qingming Festival

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It's one of the ten most famous paintings in China and the most precious treasure of the museum. It's completely unrolled for the time since 2005. The painting will be on display for two months.

The work by Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145), measuring 24.8 centimeters wide and 5.29 meters long, depicts a flourishing landscape of Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

2. Letter to Boyuan

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Letter to Boyuan, by Wang Xun (349-400), is the only surviving calligraphy from the Jin Dynasty (265-420) with an authentic signature by the writer. It is also the only real-name authentic work from the renowned Wang Xizhi family.

3. Spring Excursion

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The painting from Sui Dynasty represents the feature of China's landscape paintings in early period. The painter's name and seal is nowhere to be found on the painting but there is a line "Zhan Ziqian's Spring Excursion" written by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty. So it was regarded as a piece from Sui Dynasty painter Zhan Ziqian (545-618) by later dynasties.

4. A Literary Gathering

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Created by Zhou Wenju, this is an authentic work and a treasure from the Five Dynasties. The painting depicts four scholars' images, from which we can get a glimpse of the typical ancient literati. The drawing style was regarded as "War Pen Drawing", invented by Zhou Wenju.

5. Five Oxen

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Painted by Han Huang (723-787), it's the earliest surviving Chinese painting drawn on paper. Han Huang, from the Tang Dynasty, is known to draw folk scenes of farmers' lives. This painting is his one of his master works.

6. Butterfly

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The painting by Song Dynasty painter Zhao Chang has reflected the new style of flower paintings in Song Dynasty and has a high artistic value.

7. Poem in running script

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The calligraphy piece by Song Dynasty poet Lin Bu is the only surviving long poem during his retreat of the isolated hill at West Lake. The piece is famous also owing to a poem written by calligraphy master Su Shi at the end of the piece.

8. Returning Boat on a Snowy River

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The painting is painted by Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong in Song Dynasty. The emperor is a versatile painter, who could not only paint flowers and birds, but also created a unique calligraphy style "skinny golden style".

9. Wise and Benevolent Women

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The painting on display is not the original work from Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420) painter Gu Kaizhi, but a copied work by a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) painter. It reflects the traits of figure paintings in early period.

10. A Picture of Ten Poems

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It's the only painting by Zhang Xian. It portrays a magnificent scene but still makes people feel enjoyable. Zhang Xian was from the Northern Song Dynasty. This painting is inspired by a poem written by his father.