Palace Museum opens more sites to visitors

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, opened more areas to the public on Thursday.

9月29日，故宫博物院进一步扩大对公众开放区域。

The Broken Rainbow Bridge and the Eighteen Ancient Pagoda Trees in the west of the palace compound opened to the public for the first time.

故宫西区的断虹桥和十八槐古迹都是首次对外开放。

Seventy-six percent of the Forbidden City will be open by the end of this year, and more areas are waiting to receive visitors.

故宫的开放面积将在今年年底前达到76%，未来将有更多区域对游客开放。

故宫（the Palace Museum），也叫紫禁城（the Forbidden City），是中国明清两代的皇家宫殿（the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty），也是游客来北京的必游之地。北京故宫以三大殿为中心，占地72万平方米，建筑面积约15万平方米，有大小宫殿七十多座，房屋九千余间，是世界上现存规模最大、保存最为完整的木质结构古建筑之一（the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world）。

此次新开放的区域里有断虹桥（the Broken Rainbow Bridge）和十八槐古迹（the Eighteen Ancient Pagoda Trees）等景点，故宫神秘的冰窖（the Ice House）目前正在进行准备工作，近期也将开辟为观众服务区。此外，区域内的故宫文化资产数字化应用研究所的VR演播厅（virtual reality studio）也将面向有组织的学生团体预约观看。

故宫著名景点 Famous sites of the Palace Museum

太和殿 (tài hé diàn – the Hall of Supreme Harmony)

中和殿 (zhōng hé diàn  – the Hall of Central Harmony)

保和殿 (bǎo hé diàn – the Hall of Preserving Harmony)

养心殿 (yǎng xīn diàn – the Hall of Mental Cultivation)

交泰殿 (jiāo tài diàn – the Hall of Union)

乾清宫 (qián qīng gōng – the Palace of Heavenly Purity)

坤宁宫 (kūn níng gōng – the Palace of Earthly Tranquility)

翊坤宫 (yì kūn gōng – the Palace of Earthly Honor)

永和宫 (yǒng hé gōng – the Palace of Eternal Harmony)

慈宁宫 (cí níng gōng – the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility)

永寿宫 (yǒng shòu gōng – the Palace of Eternal Longevity)

钟翠宫 (zhōng cuì gōng – Palace of Accumulated Purity)

景仁宫 (jǐng rén gōng – the Palace of Great Benevolence)

储秀宫 (chǔ xiù gōng – the Palace of Gathered Elegance)

宁寿宫 (níng shòu gōng – the Palace of Tranquil Longevity)

御花园 (yù huā yuán – the Imperial Garden)

九龙壁 (jiǔ lóng bì – Nine-dragon Screen Wall)

Source: China Daily