Profits Permitted Behind Forbidden City Walls

Built in the 18th century, burned to the ground in 1923 and fully restored in 2005, the elegant Jianfu Palace Garden today gleams with all the imperial glory of China's dynastic era.

Also known as The Palace of Established Happiness, Jianfu stands proud in a northwest corner of the Forbidden City museum complex in central Beijing.

But it's walled off and, unlike most of the museum's buildings, always closed to the public. Meanwhile, the palace serves an arguably inglorious purpose: It's one of several cash cows run by the museum's government-linked management.