Cantonese have Xiao Ye (food eaten late at night) two hundred years ago. (Guangzhou Daily)

The exhibition "Tide Rises in Guangdong: Secret Archives of the Chinese Ming & Qing Dynasties" is scheduled to open tomorrow at the Guangdong Provincial Archives.

Hosted by the First China Historical Archives and the Guangdong Provincial Archives, the exhibition provides a rare chance for citizens to gain access to many files and art works that have never before seen daylight.

These precious exhibits date back to the Chinese Ming & Qing Dynasties from 1642 to 1910, according to staff from the Archives.

The exhibition includes official remarks from Qing Emperor Kangxi; an official collection of south China maps; paintings of Canton at Night from a Western painter and even a pay slip to a Cantonese craftsman hundreds of years ago.

The most anticipated exhibit is a photo of a silver coin collected by the Berlin Currency Museum of Germany. The frontispiece of the coin is the head portrait of the King of Prussia, while the other side is a boat sailing on the sea with a Cantonese merchant in the dress of the Qing Dynasty. It was a souvenir coin issued by the King of Prussia to celebrate the maiden voyage of the merchantman from Prussia to China's Canton in 1752.

Official remarks from the Qing Emperor Kangxi.

The frontispiece of the coin issued by the King of Prussia to celebrate the maiden voyage of the merchantman from Prussia to China's Canton in 1752 is the head portrait of the King of Prussia.

The other side is a boat sailing on the sea with a Cantonese merchant in the dress of the Qing Dynasty.

Tips:
Add: No. 128, Longkou Zhong road, Tianhe district, Guangzhou

Tel: 020- 3874 9056, 3874 9035
Fax: 3874 9051
Email: gdda@gd.gov.cn
Open time: 8:30-17:30 Monday to Friday