Aptly, just across from the Science Museum’s little Clock Gallery is a charming new exhibition – Zimingzhong: Clockwork Treasures from China’s Forbidden City.
What is a Zimingzhong and how do you even say it? Glad you asked. It’s a clock that 1) tells the time; 2) moves; 3) makes a musical noise and 4) has some symbolic significance. Several of the 23 pieces here from Beijing’s Palace Museum tick all of those boxes; all of them tick some. As for pronunciation, the Zhong is pronounced Jong.
