Beijing, Dec 19 (IANS): The Palace Museum in Beijing, also known as the Forbidden City, will launch its new digital gallery on December 22, a curator said on Saturday.

The digital gallery is located at Duanmen Gate, the principal entrance to the imperial palace grounds.

The gallery hall features screens displaying and explaining architectural features and cultural relics, some of which are too old and fragile for real display, Xinhua cited curator Shan Jixiang as saying.

The gallery's first exhibition will introduce the palace through a digital architectural model and give visitors better access to the museum's treasures through virtual reality display.

Completed on Friday, the Duanmen digital gallery will be piloted from December 22, 2015 to January 17, 2016.

Visitors can make reservations to visit for free on the official website of the Palace Museum. The english version of the website of the museum was also launched on Friday.