Forbidden City facelift for Olympics
BEIJING (AFP) – China has decided to close the most important building in Beijing’s Forbidden City for repairs ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics, state media said yesterday. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, which greets visitors immediately upon entry into the former imperial compound, will be out of bounds to the public for the next two years, the China Daily reported. The structure, the largest classical wooden hall in China, is being covered with a 40-meter-high and 70-meter-wide piece of cloth for the renovation project, according to the paper. For centuries, the Forbidden City was the emperor’s home, sealed off from the public to guarantee privacy for the ruler, his concubines and his eunuchs.
