However, after only a few years China was again engulfed by external aggression and internal strife. To escape the fires of war, the museum's priceless collection began a journey which is one of the most extraordinary tales in the history of art. From Beijing it was sent south, then west, crossing and recrossing central and southern China for a distance of over 10,000 kilometers before finally reaching Taiwan safely in 1949.
然而不出幾年，內憂外患頻仍，為了躲避戰火，故宮寶物展開了藝術史上最為驚險傳奇的一段旅程，從北平南遷，輾轉大江南北，共達一萬公里以上。