北京作为首都的历史始于1421年，当时明朝的第三代皇帝永乐帝将都城迁离金陵（现南京），在此之前已下令修建紫禁城。1901年，由于义和团事件的爆发，光绪帝与慈禧太后暂时离开了紫禁城，东京帝国大学（现东京大学）借机对紫禁城进行考察，同行人员中包括当时日本的一线摄影师小川一真（Ogawa Kazumasa）。当时的北京被城墙包围，人称「北京城」，小川一真拍摄的一系列照片也就被称为「北京城写真」。「北京城写真」清晰地向我们呈现了120年前清朝末年的光景，如紫禁城的外观、北京城内的情况等。本展呈现小川一真卓越的摄影技术留下的记录，前期（9月26日~10月22日）内容为北京城南北中轴线周边与颐和园的情形，后期（10月24日~11月19日）为紫禁城、西苑与北京城内的各个历史遗迹。
The history of Beijing as the capital began in 1421, when Emperor Yongle, the third generation emperor of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital from Jinling (now Nanjing). Before that, he had ordered the construction of the Forbidden City. In 1901, Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi temporarily left the Forbidden City due to the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion. Imperial University of Tokyo (now Tokyo University) took the opportunity to investigate the Forbidden City. The colleagues included Ogawa Kazumasa, a Japanese front-line photographer at that time. At that time, Beijing was surrounded by city walls, known as “Beijing City”. A series of photos taken by Ogawa Yizhen were also called “Beijing City Portrait”. The “Beijing Portrait” clearly shows us the scene of the late Qing Dynasty 120 years ago, such as the appearance of the Forbidden City and the situation in Beijing. This exhibition presents the records left by the outstanding photography technology of Ogawa Yizhen. In the early stage (from September 26 to October 22), the content is about the situation around the north-south central axis of Beijing and the Summer Palace, and in the later stage (from October 24 to November 19), it is about the Forbidden City, the West Garden and various historical sites in Beijing.

历史上的今天 ( 1 )：