Reopened fully after a 20-year restoration. This palace is likely the most luxurious in the “Oranienbaum” palace and park ensemble in the town of Lomonosov near St. Petersburg. It resembles a box with a secret: behind its simple facade lies imperial splendor - halls decorated in Chinese style. Art historian Alexander Benois called Catherine II’s personal residence a graceful, elegant trinket that you can’t help but admire. The Chinese Palace was built by architect Antonio Rinaldi. The rooms were decorated in the then-fashionable chinoiserie style: lots of gilding and stucco, smooth curves of frames, porcelain from the East and Europe, mirrors, Chinese and Japanese lacquered furniture. To decorate the empress’s personal retreat, a trading caravan was sent to China several times. Catherine received her first guests here in 1768. The main jewel of the palace is considered the Glass Bead Cabinet: its walls are adorned with a dozen panels embroidered with silk thread and glass beads. Butterflies and birds flutter against the sparkling background, and the gilded frames resemble tree trunks. It feels as if you are not in a room but in an enchanted forest. Catherine II loved this cabinet for its “exquisite appearance” and received high-ranking guests here.