Western section of the Palace Museum to open for the first time

Cining Palace, or the Palace of Benevolent Peace, is used to be the living area for Empress Dowager Cixi. [File photo]

Anticipation among history buffs is running high ahead of the opening up of the western section of the Forbidden City.

Officials with the Palace Museum in Beijing are set to open the western part of the Imperial Palace compound for the first time in 90 years on October 10th.

The western part is home to the renowned Cining and Shoukang Palaces.

Wang Zilin, deputy director with the Palace Museum, says they've put a lot of work into restoring the palaces.

"People are really looking forward to seeing it because it used to be a place where empresses lived. The place is very large, with beautiful furnishings inside the palace, including the best things found during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. We have restored it entirely to what it looked like during that period."

Cining Palace is where the Empress Dowager Cixi lived.

It's been transformed into an exhibition hall, where some 12-hundred pieces will be on display.

The 600 square-meter Shoukang Palace has been restored to what it looked like during the reign of Emperor Qianlong from 1735 to 1796.

Even ahead of the opening of the western section of the Forbidden City, the site still remains a popular draw.

Officials had to shut the doors at 1pm yesterday after the daily limit of 80,000 tickets sold out within hours.