Editor's note:

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, is a must-see destination for people visiting Beijing. The museum is working tirelessly to improve the visitor experience and the spectacular ancient spot now has taken on a new look. Restoration of old architectures, repair of relics, protection of cultural treasures and improved services are all part of a blueprint for the future. 

The Palace Museum will open more areas based on renovation currently happening behind closed doors. "To respect the history, we can only use ancient building materials during renovation to keep the original facades." Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum said. "By 2020, the 600th birthday of this palace, the only construction left will be historical relics. Then, we will have a Forbidden City of peace and splendor for the next 600 years." [More] 

Despite an increasing number of tourists, the Palace Museum strives to better its hospitality service to cater for the needs of each individual visitor. Specific initiatives include adjusting exhibition layouts, widening opening area, improving service infrastructure and channeling the overflowing of visitors. [More] 

Audio guides in 40 languages

Audio guides of the Palace Museum are in 40 languages, including main foreign languages, languages of other ethnic groups as well as dialects such as Cantonese and Southern Fujian dialect. 

Care for the old and disabled

Personalized service has become another focus of the service improvement scheme. For instance, the elderly and the disabled can get free wheel chairs in the tourist service center before entering the museum. 

Activities for children

The Palace museum frequently organizes cultural activities that targeted at teenagers and poverty-stricken families. 

The Palace Museum is building its north center in the suburb area of Beijing. The center covers an area of 470,000 square meters, which includes a 20,000-square-meter cultural relic repair and protection section, a 55,000-square-meter exhibition hall, a classical palace garden center, a digital museum and other related centers. The cultural relic repair and protection center will be open to the public to show the restoration process.  [More]