The National Palace Museum in Taipei is home to a rich collection of approximately 200,000 volumes of rare books and nearly 400,000 pieces of historical documents from the Qing archives. Large in number, these materials are of great cultural and historical value. The rare books are appealing to the audiences because of the superb craftsmanship, exquisite decorations and fine layout designs. The confidential nature of the archival documents of the Qing court would also trigger the visitors' curiosity. This exhibition, which will continue at NPM through August 19, 2012 (http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/visiting/exhibit/exhibit_04.htm?docno=804), offers the public a chance to examine these rare books and acquire a better understanding of how the Chinese book has evolved over the centuries, and to have a clearer idea of the Qing archival system and its relevance to government administration and even court history.