Forbidden City's new park will open for free

The Forbidden City's new park in northern Beijing will open to the public for free upon completion. It is expected to draw 3 million visitors annually, according to Shan Jixiang, curator of the Forbidden City Museum.

The park, as an extended but separated compound of Beijing's most iconic attraction, is scheduled to cover a total area of approximately 500,000 square meters, complete with a restoration center of cultural relics, an exhibition center, a storehouse and an imperial garden.

In 2011, the number of visitors to the Forbidden City toppled 14 million, making it the only museum that receives over 10 million visitors in the world. In 2012, this number climbed to 15.3 million.

"The northern park will ease the overcrowding inside the Forbidden City itself," said Shan.

The planned imperial garden of the northern park will open to visitors as early as the end of 2014.

Shan also reassured there is no need to worry that there will be too many visitors due to the free admission, citing the park's large area.

"The northern park is very big, about half of 1 square kilometer. It is scheduled for completion in three to five years, or perhaps even more than that. An estimate of 3 million people will visit the park," he said. "The new park is big garden, dotted with historical sites. There won't be any overcrowding like in the Forbidden City. Instead, I am afraid visitors will be too few."

Source: china.org.cn by He Shan