Chinese President Hu Jintao and British Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of a spectacular Chinese exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

The exhibition, "China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795," presents some 400 works illustrating the artistic and cultural riches of imperial China during the reign of three most powerful emperors of the Qing Dynasty, China's last dynasty.

A large proportion of these unique artistic objects have never been shown outside china. The exhibition will last till April 2006.

Hu, who is currently on a state visit to Britain, and Queen Elizabeth II toured the exhibition after cutting the ribbon of the opening ceremony.

The Chinese president arrived in London on Tuesday and is to leave for Germany Thursday to continue his four-nation European-Asian trip, which will also take him to Spain and South Korea.

Hu will also attend the 13th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Busan, South Korea on Nov.18-19.