A national touring exhibition about the Chinese imperial examination organized by Shanghai's Jiading Museum is being mounted at Zhoukoudian Site Museum, Beijing, from Nov 30 to Dec 27. [Photo/zkd.cn]

Shanghai's Jiading Museum is hosting an exhibition on the famed Chinese imperial examination at Zhoukoudian Site Museum in Beijing from Nov 30 to Dec 27.

More than 70 exhibits including cultural relics, charts, models, and tables are on display to present the evolution, procedures, and content of the imperial examination.

Miniature models of Gongyuan, the site for the exams, and replicas of rooms where ancient Chinese examinees took the test are presented, giving visitors a better understanding of the ancient proceeding.

The Chinese imperial examination, or Keju, was the means by which an individual rose to a bureaucratic position in imperial China. Spanning 1,300 years, the exam was of great significance in China's history, helping maintain the country's unity and solidarity and promote Chinese culture, particularly Confucian culture.

Its origins lie in the Han Dynasty period (206 BC – 220 AD), but it was formally consolidated during the Sui period (581-618) and gained full effect from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) onwards. The practice was abolished in 1905.

The imperial examination-themed exhibition launched by Jiading Museum started touring the country in 1996 and has been displayed in more than 30 museums and universities around the country.

The arrival of the exhibition at Zhoukoudian Site Museum marks the second-time that museum has cooperated with the Jiading Museum. The former institute is situated on the site where the world-famous Peking Man lived about half a million years ago.

The cooperation is expected to promote understanding of ancient and prehistoric civilization and enhance cultural exchange between the two museums.