Peony-themed decorations and signs are seen on a building in central China.
Peony Palace, one of the world’s oldest and largest royal palaces, is now in lockdown due a chemical threat, according to a statement by the government.
The palace is the only one in the world to be on lockdown, the statement said.
A government official said Peony and other royal palaeontologists are on the verge of finding the cause of the “chemical threat.”
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.
Chinese officials have previously announced a plan to open the country’s second and last palace on May 4, but they have said the government won’t reveal the exact date or the date the new palace will open.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would send a team to the area around the Peony Gardens to examine the situation.
Authorities have said they have a number of potential causes of the chemical threat.
The government hasn’t said if it believes the chemical is linked to the recent explosion in a chemical plant in eastern China, which killed at least 47 people.
China says it is investigating the death of a person who was poisoned at a chemical factory in the city of Wuhan last month.
There have been no new explosions at the Peonies, which are built on top of ancient sandstone cliffs.
The Peony Kingdom is a large-scale, ceremonial complex located in the heart of Beijing.
One of the few surviving surviving examples of ancient Chinese architecture is a palace built in the late 16th century, according the National Museum of China in Beijing.