Forbidden City to turn off lights for Earth Hour 2010

The Forbidden City in Beijing will turn off its lights for Earth Hour at 8.30pm tomorrow, in a display of action on global warming and China's commitment to the pursuit of low-carbon economic development.

Earth Hour is a global event organized by World Wildlife Fund. It is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to make their stand against climate change.

It started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour.

Earth Hour 2010 is on track to become the largest Earth Hour yet, aiming to garner more than one billion participants.

Besides the Forbidden City, more than 800 other icons and landmarks worldwide will turn off their lights for Earth Hour tomorrow. Among them are Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, London Eye, Sydney Opera House and the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa.