Palace Museum to limit admissions on Mondays
By Yang Jian |
March 19, 2013, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BEIJING'S historical landmark, the Palace Museum, will be shut for tourists on Monday afternoons, starting from April 1, the museum's operator announced yesterday.
The museum, also known as the Forbidden City, will open as usual at 8:30am on Monday but will stop issuing tickets at 11am and close the door at 12pm.
The museum's operator said the curbs are necessary to protect the cultural relics and historical buildings after a jump in visitor traffic.
During the closure every week, the building and the relics will be inspected. It will stay open during holidays and summer vacations (between July and August).
"The museum receives over 15 million visitors every year and the number is increasing, putting great pressure on the operator to protect the exhibits and preserve the buildings," Shan Qixiang, curator of the museum, said. The museum's security and fire protection facilities will also be scrutinized.
There are also plans to limit the number of visitors to the Imperial Garden during the Qingming Festival holiday which falls between April 4 and 6 this year.
The museum said previous efforts to restrict visitors was successful.
It attracted a record 182,000 visitors on October 2, 2012, during the National Day holiday, which exhausted staff and security guards at the museum that stretches 320,000 square meters, Shan told the annual meeting in Beijing of the country's top political advisory body.
The museum received a total of 15.34 million visitors in 2012 - a jump of 9 percent from 2011.
Shan said the museum is installing an anti-theft system similar to the one at the British Museum following a highly publicized theft last year.
The museum, also known as the Forbidden City, will open as usual at 8:30am on Monday but will stop issuing tickets at 11am and close the door at 12pm.
The museum's operator said the curbs are necessary to protect the cultural relics and historical buildings after a jump in visitor traffic.
During the closure every week, the building and the relics will be inspected. It will stay open during holidays and summer vacations (between July and August).
"The museum receives over 15 million visitors every year and the number is increasing, putting great pressure on the operator to protect the exhibits and preserve the buildings," Shan Qixiang, curator of the museum, said. The museum's security and fire protection facilities will also be scrutinized.
There are also plans to limit the number of visitors to the Imperial Garden during the Qingming Festival holiday which falls between April 4 and 6 this year.
The museum said previous efforts to restrict visitors was successful.
It attracted a record 182,000 visitors on October 2, 2012, during the National Day holiday, which exhausted staff and security guards at the museum that stretches 320,000 square meters, Shan told the annual meeting in Beijing of the country's top political advisory body.
The museum received a total of 15.34 million visitors in 2012 - a jump of 9 percent from 2011.
Shan said the museum is installing an anti-theft system similar to the one at the British Museum following a highly publicized theft last year.
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