Tibetan Buddhist palaces restored in Forbidden City

Tibetan Buddhist palaces and buildings in the northwest corner of the Forbidden City, currently the Palace Museum in Beijing, have been reconstructed after a disastrous fire nearly 90 years ago. The reconstruction strictly followed the tradition of materials, procedures and techniques to restore the appearance in the Qianlong Period (1736-1795), according to a Palace Museum statement. The palaces and buildings served as the central area for Tibetan Buddhist activities inside the Forbidden City during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). However, they were burnt down in a fire in the summer of 1923, which also destroyed the Jianfu Palace Garden to the north. The restoration of the Tibetan Buddhist buildings was launched after the museum and the Hong Kong-based China Heritage Fund (CHF) completed reconstruction of the Garden in 2005. Part of the area will be assigned to the museum's research center on Tibetan Buddhism, with the rest being developed into exhibition rooms for related cultural relics, the statement added. A total of 24 emperors lived in the Forbidden City since 1420, and it was added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage list in 1987.