Beijing's world famous Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, will be freely accessible by wheelchair from next year with the completion of a series of special lifts and routes to overcome the numerous stone stairways.

Starting from the Wu Men or Meridian Gate, a disabled tourist can travel smoothly to the top of the Wu Men Tower in 10 minutes by a series of Z-shaped elevators, according to the museum.

The Palace Museum would also publish the tourist map for the disabled denoting the locations of barrier-free facilities. Three routes would be constructed taking in main attractions by the end of this year.

One of the routes, the one-kilometer south-north avenue will run through Tai He Dian (The Hall of Supreme Harmony), Zhong He Dian (The Hall of Central Harmony), Bao He Dian (The Hall of Preserving Harmony), Qian Qing Gong (The Palace of Heavenly Purity), Jiao Tai Dian (The Hall of Union), and Kun Ning Gong (The Palace of Earthly Tranquility).

Thresholds of the halls and palaces on the routes are all removable, according to the museum.

The Palace Museum, historically and artistically one of the most comprehensive Chinese museums, was established on the foundation of the palace that was the ritual center of two dynasties, the Ming and the Qing, and their collections of treasures.

Designated by the State Council as one of China's foremost protected monuments in 1961, the Palace Museum was made a United Nations of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site in 1987.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2007)