from Voice of America
American Philanthropists to Return 'Forbidden City' to Former Glamour
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A praiseworthy effort to reach across cultures by funding a large-scale preservation project, which otherwise might not materialise. However, one cannot help but wonder whether national pride would come into the picture? Or is the historic complex a mere curious cultural relic (and a tourist trap) in present-day China which has done away with dynastic monarchism?

Perhaps, what is most curious is the selection of the particular restoration site - a retirement lodge of the Emperor Qianlong, who had been credited in opening up the Middle Kingdom to the influx of Western (imperial) influences. The lodge had previously functioned as a private theatre pavilion and contained an admixture of Chinese ornate motifs and Italian paintings executed in the 18th century. It makes one wonder whether the decision to select the site for this worthy cause could have been an unconsciously (or consciously) "political" one?