Photos: Famous tourist site Gongwangfu to reopen on Aug. 20

A portray of Heshen in A traditional Chinese room in Gongwangfu in Beijing.

The 232-year-old Gongwangfu, China's largest and best-preserved Qing Dynasty mansion, will open to the public for the first time ever on Aug. 20, 2008 after 31 months of restoration. The mansion was constructed around 1776 and was originally the private residence of Heshen, a member of imperial court of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796) in the Qing Dynasty (1644--1911). The mansion consists of residential quaters covering some 32,000 square meters and a 28,000-square-meter garden.

(Photo credit: Xinhua)

A man takes a photo of a piece of roof decoration.