The Palace Museum is planning to set up a branch institute in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, said Shan Jixiang, director of the museum, xmnn.cn reported on Oct. 29.

The institute will be committed to producing professionals for protection of the historical buildings and relics in the Palace Museum.

The palace museum, also known as the Forbidden City, is the world’s largest and best preserved ancient wooden structure palace group. About 85 percent of the museum will be open to the public in 2020, according to the director.

In addition, Shan disclosed that a “smart Palace Museum” will be built in 3 years, which will be the world’s best digital museum with advanced technologies, equipment and originality.

The museum established its first research institute in 2013 as a way to boost the protection of antiques and raise people’s awareness of the cultural heritage, followed by others in Suzhou, Jingdezhen, Xi’an, and Shenzhen, Shan noted.

Shan added that Xiamen plans to cooperate with China Poly Group Corporation on construction of the institute and the project is now in the stage of site selection.

This May, a museum to exhibit foreign items on the scenic Gulangyu Island was built by the Palace Museum in Xiamen, which attracted crowds of visitors during the National Day Holiday from Oct. 1-8.