Donation contributes to palace renovation

Renovation of the Yanxi (Prolonged Happiness) Palace in the Forbidden City of Beijing will proceed thanks to a donation by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation.

The 100 million yuan (US$15 million) donation will be used for the protection and renovation of the Yanxi (Prolonged Happiness) Palace, preparation of a foreign cultural relics exhibition hall and youth exchanges with Hong Kong, as well as training for the new museum in Hong Kong displaying collections from the Forbidden City, now also known as the Palace Museum, China Daily reported Monday.

The Yanxi Palace, in the east of the Palace Museum, used to serve as a residence for concubines, and it burned down in 1845.

In 1909, the then ruler ordered the construction of an aquarium at the site, using western-style architecture in combination with Chinese patterns as decorations, in the hope that water would prevent fire in the future.

The construction was left unfinished with the downfall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912).

According to Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum, the Yanxi Palace area was chosen to be turned into a foreign cultural relics exhibition space because the palace reflects Sino-foreign cultural exchanges. It is expected to reopen to the public in 2020.