BEIJING - Tourists to Taipei's Palace Museum hit a record high in 2012, and mainland visitors accounted for 40 percent of the 4.36 million visitors last year, the museum's director said on Tuesday.

Feng Ming-chu revealed the figure during an ongoing trip to the Chinese mainland to discuss the possibility of borrowing artifacts from Beijing's Palace Museum for an exhibition slated for this year.

The mainland is currently the biggest source of tourists to Taiwan. Taipei's Palace Museum is considered a must-see during most mainland tourists' Taiwan trips.

On Tuesday, Feng said Taipei's Palace Museum intends to borrow some 30 artifacts to supplement an exhibition called "The Artistic Taste of Emperor Qian Long," which is scheduled to be held in Taipei.

The items in question include portraits of Emperor Qian Long, one of the longest ruling emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and his concubines, a number of grand timepieces, and other objects that reflect his artistic preferences.

Emperor Qian Long (1711-1799) took the throne in 1735 and abdicated in 1796. One of his hobbies was collecting timepieces.

Taipei's Palace Museum is known for its rich collection of artifacts that were removed from the Palace Museum in Beijing in the 1930s.

The collection was transported to Taiwan by the Kuomintang government between late 1948 and early 1949 at the end of a failed civil war with communist forces.

Ties have improved markedly between the museums, with the curators of both institutions exchanging their first visits in 2009.

According Feng, its collection will be accessible through digital displays in Beijing in 2014, upon the completion of a special hall for the purpose in the Beijing museum.