The Museum of Folk Treasures, China's only national museum of folk arts, opened in Beijing Friday. More than 2,000 exhibits, gathered from private collectors or on loan from other museums, are part of the inaugural show.

Xu Jialu, vice-chairman of CPPCC cut the ribbon at the inauguration along with Beijing municipal and Chongwen District officials.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is this faithful miniature of the Palace Museum. It's reproduced on the scale of one to one hundred and twenty. The sprawling sculpture occupies forty square meters.It required a six-year effort from the country's top craftsmen. The texture of Indian rosewood gives the model gravity and prestige.

The 2000 exhibits are arranged artfully throughout the entire five-storey building. Exhibits include: jade, wax work, masks, embroidery, tangka and ethnic costumes, to name a few.

The Chinese Folk Treasure Committee sent out a call for exhibits last July. The enthusiastic reception of private collectors enabled the committee to gather 20,000 works of art. The organizers have screened out nine tenth of the pieces. The rest are now on exhibition.