The 230-year-old Gong Wang Fu, China's largest and best-preserved Qing Dynasty mansion, will open to the public before the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, officials said in Beijing on Friday.

A middle school affiliated with the China Conservatory was the last tenant to move out of the mansion to allow restoration work to begin in earnest, said officials with Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics.

"We are figuring out how to best protect the heritage site and exhibit it to the world," said Gu Changjiang, director of Gong Wang Fu Management Center.

Workers are expected to complete the renovation so that it can open to international tourists before the Olympic Games, said Gu.

Gong Wang Fu opened its ornamental garden to the public in 1988. Most other parts of the mansion were occupied by various offices and it was home to more than 200 families at that time.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, many royal buildings in Beijing were turned into schools, factories, offices or dormitories.

Gong Wang Fu is located near Beijing's famous tourist area Houhai Lake in city's downtown area. The mansion consists of residential quarters covering some 32,000 square meters and a 28,000-square-meter garden.

The mansion was constructed around 1776 and was originally the private residence of Heshen, a member of imperial court of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796). Later, Emperor Jiaqing (1796-1820) bestowed it to his younger brother Yong Lin in 1799.

Eventually Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1862) transferred the ownership to Prince Gong and the mansion has borne his name since then.

Editor: Donald