The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, expanded its closures from Mondayafternoons to the entire day, a move the museum said will better preserve its relics and allowenough time each week to maintain them.
"We want to give the architectural and cultural relics a break. But it's not a break for the museumstaff. In fact, there is a ton of work to do on Mondays so that the visitors can experience a saferand better Palace Museum," said museum director Shan Jixiang.
The museum, which announced the expanded closures on Monday, had been operating all yearround since the 1980s but began to close its doors every Monday afternoon last year to allow formaintenance and housecleaning, Shan said.
Staff members start their housecleaning from the central axis of the palace. In Taihe Dian, or theHall of Supreme Harmony, where the emperors once held ceremonies, the floor's "golden bricks"have to be cleaned with mops soaked in kerosene.
Previously, the bricks were only cleaned shortly before visitors arrived at 8:30 am, but now staffmembers have an entire day each week to clean the tiles. Shan said this is the first time that themuseum has had enough time to thoroughly clean Taihe Dian in 10 years.
"In ancient times, it took nine years to manufacture these bricks. Once they are damaged, it isimpossible to fix them because they are no longer made and cannot be replaced," he said.
The Dragon Throne of the Emperor of China, which features nine wooden sculptures of dragons,is dusted with banister brushes and cotton swabs.
The Forbidden City served as the imperial palace for the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. With 980 buildings and an area of 720,000 square meters, it is considered thelargest existing ancient wooden structure in the world.
Fire safety is a key concern for the museum. Temporary housing used as ticket offices areconstructed of flammable material. Such housing will be removed and replaced with buildings ofsafer materials, Shan said. The museum also launched a fire drill on Monday.
All of the exhibition cabinets, interior lighting, signage and posters will be examined andrefurbished. The new signage will echo the palace's interior.
The museum is slated to examine any damage to the walls in the palace this year. Repairs willbegin next year.
The museum is planning to change the exhibition in the Antiquarium on a monthly basis, Shansaid. The exhibition in the Antiquarium has not been changed since 2006 because many of theexhibits like silk and paper are not suitable to be exposed to the air for a long period of time.
单词：dynasty 王朝、朝代 exhibition 展览 maintain 维护、保持
句子：Previously, the bricks were only cleaned shortly before visitors arrived at 8:30 am, but now stuff members have an entire day each week to clean the tiles. Shan said this is the first time to have had enough time to thoroughly clean Taihe Dian in ten years.
以前，砖只是在游客八点半到达前简单的清扫，但是现在员工每周有一整天的时间清理这些砖瓦。单说这是在十年内第一次有足够的时间好好清理太和殿。