All modern structures located in the Forbidden City will be torn down in an effort to preserve the ancient integrity of the site, the Director of the Palace Museum announced Sunday.
The Forbidden City was home to emperors from the 15th to 20th centuries, and is currently one of the most visited tourist sites in China. Over the next three years, roughly 14,800 square meters of structures and buildings that were recently built on the site will be removed, South China Morning Post reports.
“The Palace Museum is spending the next three years making sure the Forbidden City has only ancient architecture, without a single building of modern construction to affect its ambience,” director Shan Jixiang said. “By doing so, [we] can hand over a magnificent and beautiful Forbidden City intact for the next 600 years.”
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As part of the new measure, office buildings of half of the museum’s staff – roughly 1,500 workers – will be relocated. Administrative personnel and staff parking lots will also be moved to locations outside of the Forbidden City’s walls.
The museum also plans on replacing the pavement inside the palace with more authentic materials and adding additional greenery and trees to the grounds.
READ MORE: Forbidden City Gets an Illuminating Makeover
Currently 76 percent of the Forbidden City’s ancient architecture is open to the public. The goal is to have 80 percent open to the public in two years’ time, and 85 percent by 2025.
[Image via China-tour.cn]
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