PALACE MUSEUM FIREFIGHTERS SAFEGUARD COUNTRY'S PAST

50-strong prevention team keeps close watch on landmark WANG KAIHAO

They are likely to go unnoticed by the multitude of visitors who pass the Donghuamen, or East Prosperity Gate, at Beijing's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City.

A force of about 50 firefighters stationed in a courtyard by the east gate of the former imperial palace keeps watch around the clock for what is probably the biggest potential enemy of the world's largest wooden architectural complex: fire.