A six-week internship project involving college students from Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, began at the Palace Museum in Beijing on Tuesday.

The 48 students, 16 from each place, will be assigned to 11 departments in the museum, including restoration of cultural relics, exhibition design and receiving visitors.

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was the former Chinese imperial palace from 1420 to 1911, and is home for 1.86 million cultural relics.

This internship program is being run for the second year in row. Last year, it took in 30 students from Guangdong and Hong Kong.

According to Shan Jixiang, the director of the Palace Museum, the program will deepen cultural connections between the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao, and offer opportunities to young people better understand the protection of cultural heritage.