On August 11, 2026, the "Expressing Delight in the Prince's Garden: Prince Kung's Palace Museum 2026 Special Goldfish Exhibition" officially opened in the East Second Courtyard and the Duofu Pavilion Courtyard of the Prince Kung's Palace Museum in Beijing. Running until August 23, 2026, this marks the fifth consecutive goldfish-themed special exhibition hosted by the museum. It is not only a concentrated showcase of traditional ornamental goldfish culture but also an innovative practice that integrates the ancient custom of goldfish appreciation with various intangible cultural heritage crafts, deeply rooted in the profound garden heritage of Prince Kung's Palace. The exhibition features over 20 traditional ornamental goldfish varieties and ingeniously incorporates intangible cultural heritage crafts such as woodblock prints, paper-cutting, fish lanterns, kite-making, and embroidery, offering visitors a unique cultural journey through shifting scenes that blend goldfish appreciation with the brilliance of traditional craftsmanship. The exhibition is currently in full swing, attracting a large number of culture enthusiasts and local tourists.
The exhibition features an ingenious spatial layout with five carefully curated thematic scenes. In the East Second Courtyard, four sets of "Viewing Goldfish in Wooden Seas" landscapes have been meticulously crafted. "Wooden Seas" refer to palace-grade solid wood tubs, approximately 1.5 meters in diameter, used to house goldfish. These traditional breeding vessels not only highlight the luxury and refinement of royal gardens but also provide an optimal vantage point for goldfish appreciation. The four scenes are set against different intangible cultural heritage crafts, achieving an aesthetic effect where each tub pairs with a unique craft, creating a harmonious and delightful interplay.
The first is the "Woodblock Prints" scene, featuring prestigious goldfish varieties such as Bubble Eye, Ranchu, and Dragon Eye. These varieties boast diverse and highly ornamental forms. The backdrop displays woodblock New Year prints from schools like Yangliuqing. As a treasure of Northern Chinese folk art, Yangliuqing prints are known for their vibrant colors and delicate lines, creating an artistic tension of dynamic and static elements when paired with the lively goldfish in the water. Next is the "Paper-Cutting" scene, showcasing varieties like Dragon Eye, Red Cap, and Pompon. The display racks feature goldfish paper-cuttings from Yuxian and other regions. Renowned for its unique combination of intaglio and relief carving techniques, Yuxian paper-cutting captures the agile postures of goldfish on red paper, demonstrating the exquisite skills of folk artisans. The third is the "Kites" scene, housing varieties such as Ryukin, Yuanbao Lion, Danfeng, and Danqiu. The backdrops are adorned with Weifang-style goldfish kites. As a national-level intangible cultural heritage, Weifang kite-making combines three-dimensional kite art with swimming goldfish, creating a vivid imagery akin to carp leaping over the dragon gate. Finally, the "Embroidery" scene features varieties like Black Dragon Eye, Tiger Head with "Wang" Mark, and Ranchu. The backdrop is set with double-sided goldfish-themed Su embroidery from the Suzhou and Hangzhou regions. Characterized by being flat, even, harmonious, glossy, smooth, and uniform, the double-sided Su embroidery renders the scales and tail fins of the goldfish so lifelike that they echo the real goldfish in a seamless interplay of the virtual and the real, leaving visitors in awe.
The largest scene, "Viewing Goldfish in Ponds and Marshes: Fish Lanterns," is located in the Duofu Pavilion Courtyard. Here,错落有致的 rockery fish ponds are built among towering cypress trees, stocked with classic varieties like Red Dragon Eye and Black Dragon Eye. Beneath the massive wisteria trellis on the north side, exquisite goldfish lanterns hang at varying heights, casting dappled light and shadows. Below, in earthenware pots, swim colorful and vibrant varieties such as Lemon Grass Gold, Red and White Gold, Variegated Gold, and Chinese Lion.
Notably, the center of the courtyard integrates with the ongoing "Children's Paintings of Prince Kung's Palace: Exhibition of Aesthetic Education Achievements for Youth at Prince Kung's Palace Museum." The exhibition invited 30 students from Chuiyangliu Central Primary School to collectively create a large-scale painted installation titled "Swimming Scales in Dreams: Time-Space Bubbles," themed around capturing the most beautiful postures of goldfish. In the center of the installation, traditional clay pots house varieties like Danqiu, Crown Pearl, and Yuanbao Lion, creating a unique scene of "Viewing Goldfish in Clay Pots: Paintings." Clay pots, also known as "Tiger Head Pots," are traditional earthenware vessels for raising goldfish. Historical records show that since the Ming and Qing dynasties, clay pots were first used in royal palaces and princely mansions before gradually entering common courtyards. To this day, they remain the preferred vessels for traditional goldfish enthusiasts. This scene not only pays tribute to traditional breeding vessels but also vividly traces the historical context of goldfish breeding techniques.
To enhance visitor engagement, the exhibition has set up a comprehensive intangible cultural heritage experience zone in the transition area between the East Second Courtyard and the Duofu Pavilion Courtyard. This zone offers scheduled interactive sessions on goldfish-themed woodblock print rubbing, goldfish paper-cutting, round fan painting, kite coloring, and clay sculpture. Visitors can experience the charm of intangible cultural heritage crafts firsthand while enjoying the goldfish, transforming their visit from a cursory glance to a deeply immersive experience.
In terms of overall landscape design, the entire exhibition area is uniformly landscaped with aquatic plants such as lotuses, complemented by flooring printed with the pattern of fish playing among lotus leaves and Chinese-style red-framed display racks. This design not only echoes the aesthetic imagery found in classical poetry but also blends seamlessly with the architectural style of Prince Kung's Palace. The exhibition successfully integrates the ancient custom of goldfish appreciation, traditional goldfish breeding techniques, and intangible cultural heritage art, balancing landscape aesthetics with cultural heritage expression.
"Expressing Delight in the Prince's Garden: Prince Kung's Palace Museum 2026 Special Goldfish Exhibition" is not only a visual feast but also a profound practice in cultural heritage. Throughout the exhibition, which runs until August 23, visitors can not only appreciate the agile beauty of over 20 traditional goldfish varieties but also fully experience the profound heritage of intangible cultural heritage crafts. The successful hosting of such exhibitions provides an excellent model for the revitalization and utilization of traditional culture in a modern context, further demonstrating the responsibility and commitment of Prince Kung's Palace Museum in promoting fine traditional Chinese culture.