An extensive facelift for China's famous Forbidden City will be completed ahead of the Olympics, after more than five years of repairs while the palace continued to receive tourists, a spokesman for the historical site said yesterday.

"Repair work will end before August when people will see an enlarged open area at the palace," said Feng Nai'en, spokesman for the Palace Museum.

A 1,000-square-meter area in the palace will be opened for tourists for the first time this year with an exhibition of imperial horse-drawn vehicles, said Feng.

The new area is outside Taihemen or the Gate of Supreme Harmony, the main gate of the Outer Court in the palace, as well as Wenhuadian, the Hall of Literary Splendor.

"Taihedian, which has been closed for repairs for more than two years, will be unveiled with refurbished color paintings ahead of the Olympics," Feng said.

Taihedian is the highest and the most striking building in the Forbidden City. It is where emperors received high officials and exercised their rule over the nation.

Balusters made of white marble in the palace have been consolidated, and the carpolite lanes have been paved with elaborate designs from imperial times so that the palace can be better preserved while still accommodating thousands of tourists every day, Feng said.

He said a permanent medical station has been established in the palace.

The spokesman did not reveal the cost of the facelift, said by culture experts to be the biggest overhaul of the Forbidden City in 100 years.

The facelift of the Forbidden City has been the focus of a government program which has made annual plans for repairs of weatherworn historical sites in Beijing since 2003.

The Forbidden City, in the center of Beijing, used to cover 6.8 square kilometers, when it was an imperial residence of emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2008)