Tourists look over the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park in Beijing, Oct. 13, 2009. (Photo : REUTERS)
Almost all areas of Beijing’s iconic Forbidden City will soon be opened to the public by 2020, as part of preparations commemorating the 600th anniversary of the former imperial residence that year, one of the site’s chief administrators announced on Wednesday.
Housing the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City will have 85 percent of its exhibition areas open by 2020, the museum's curator Shan Jixiang told attendees at an international eco-city forum in northern Chinese city of Tianjin.
According to Shan, only 65 percent of the site is currently accessible to the public, a sharp rise from 30 percent 13 years ago.
Several of the Forbidden City's old buildings will also be renovated while some administrative and ancillary facilities will be removed in preparation for the wider opening.
One of the buildings to be repaired is a storage facility that will house thousands of pieces of wooden furniture crafted during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912). Made of precious wood, the furniture is currently scattered in 30 storerooms and have not been displayed or repaired, said Shan.
Eighteen unique exhibitions featuring 15,000 artifacts, of which 80 percent will be displayed for the first time, will also be shown from Oct. 10 onward to mark this year's 90th anniversary of the museum's opening to the public, he added.
Some of the areas that are expected to be open for public viewing include the Yanchi House at the Meridian Gate, the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility formerly reserved for China's empresses, and the entire western section of the Forbidden City.
More than 15 million people visit the Forbidden City annually, although the number of visitors are limited to just 80,000 daily to minimize pressure on both the museum's facilities and staff.
