Palace Museum to open female section

Director of the Palace Museum Shan Jixiang announced on December 8 that by the year 2020, which will mark the 600th birthday of the Palace Museum, the area available to the public will reach 76 percent. At that time, the overall relic restoration project of the imperial palace will be finished, and the western part of the palace which was resided mainly by the royal females will be open to the public.

According to Shan, when the Palace Museum started its renovation in 2002, the open area consisted of about 30 percent, now it’s at 52 percent, with an expected 76 percent to be opened in eight years.

"The Western part of the Palace Museum was called the ‘female world’ in the past as it was the residential area of empresses and concubines, the area is mysterious to the outside world and has never been opened to the public since the museum’s establishment 88 years ago,” said Shan, “women who lived in the court had sufficient time, hence the area is mainly occupied by gardens and temples.”

Source: china daily via china.org.cn

Forbidden City to Open More Areas to Visitors

Seventy-six percent of the Forbidden City is expected to be open to the public in 2020 after the completion of on-going restoration work, said Shan Jixiang, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, at a seminar on December 8, 2013.

The seminar, held in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, was aimed at discussing sustainable development of cultural heritage.

In 2020, the Forbidden City will be 600 years old. The restoration project that began in 2002 added three hectares of visiting area, about four percent of the total, to the Forbidden City by 2010.

"During the past 11 years, we moved seven out of the 13 units under the State Bureau of Cultural Relics in order to expand more places for visiting and to allow more visitors to learn about the palace's history," Shan said.

Shan also disclosed that the western areas of the palace, where the imperial women lived, will also be open to visitors for the first time. "The western areas have never been open and there are lots of flower gardens and Buddhist prayer rooms there," he said.

Forty-six percent of the palace's total area is now open to the public. However, visitors to the ancient structure have increased by 66 percent from 2002's 7.1 million to 2009's 11.9 million.

"The current areas that are open in the Forbidden City can accommodate 30,000 visitors each day, but in busy seasons, the number can hit 130,000," Shan said. "The expansion of the tourist area could greatly reduce this pressure and reduce the possibility of relics and sites being damaged."

There are more than 9,000 rooms in the Forbidden City, with tourists mainly allowed to enter those located along the central axes of the area. Many of the courtyards on both sides of the axes are not yet open to visitors. Opening these areas is the central purpose of the restoration project.

Before the restoration, nine percent of all buildings in the Forbidden City were occupied by outside institutions.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government.

Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 720,000 square meters. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by the United Nations Educational，Scientific，and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War.

Source: Women of China | Photo: Wikepedia

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

Forbidden City built with stones dragged on ice

What's instantly noticeable about the Forbidden City, which served as the home of emperors and their households for almost 500 years since the 15th century, are the enormous white stone foundations supporting the historical site's 980 wooden buildings.

"You go to the Forbidden City and see these massive rocks and you ask yourself: 'How in the world did they ever move this rock here?'" said Thomas Stone of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University, as quoted by Nature magazine.

Stone is part of a three-person team that recently discovered how. In a report published on Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they revealed that Chinese architects hauled the rocks from quarries in Fangshan, located 70 kilometers south of downtown Beijing, on wooden sledges along ice roads.

Li Jiang, an expert in mechanical engineering from the University of Science and Technology Beijing and a member of the team that performed the study, found ancient Chinese documents describing how people transported a 120-metric-ton rock to repair three major halls in the Forbidden City in 1557.

The ancient document, Lianggong Dingjian Ji, which translates as "the reconstruction record of two palaces", detailed how workers created man-made ice paths to transport the stone. The process was methodical: every half kilometer, wells were dug to obtain water, which was then poured onto a road and allowed to freeze to reduce the friction between the sledges and the road.

"The 49-cubic-meter rock was hauled to Beijing in four weeks. That is an average speed of about eight centimeters per second," Li said.

The scientists were amazed that ancient Chinese builders continued to use the slow, laborious method well into the 16th century, even after wheeled vehicles had been present in China for more than 3,000 years.

"When we talk about hauling in a mechanical engineering context, we often think of ancient Egyptians and Assyrians, but we do not usually refer to ancient China," Li said.

In science history publications, such as Duncan Dowson's classic History of Tribology, "the haulage of colossal statues by masses of men does not appear in any kind of ancient Chinese representation", because wheels with spokes appeared in China at about 1500 BC.

The researchers found that the ancient Chinese combination of ice paths and sledges were the safest and most efficient way to transport massive objects.

"Ancient documents until the late 16th century show that wheeled vehicles could carry a maximum load of 95 tons. So workers had to find other methods to ship the multi-ton rocks," Li said.

Sledges were also used to keep the expensive large stones from being damaged.

Studies comparing the ancient Chinese technique of transporting stone with methods from other ancient civilizations show it is more efficient to drag the sledges rather than to use wooden rollers, as the Assyrians did.

Stone said the team's calculations show that dragging the 120-ton rock with a sledge over ground that was not frozen with ice would have required a labor force of more than 1,500 people. On ice or wet wooden rails, on the other hand, it would have required 330 men. The ancient Chinese practice of hauling stone along an ice road lubricated by water would have needed fewer than 50 men.

Source: By Cheng Yingqi (China Daily)

Beijing's big 4 sites: The ultimate weekend guide

There’s a reason every traveler who sets foot in Beijing visits the city’s most famous tourist draws: the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Summer Palace.

Visit the "big four" and you’ve ticked a few of the world’s “must see” boxes.

The Great Wall of China (长城)

What it is: The world’s greatest example of human will and ingenuity (and irrationality).
Stretching from China’s east coast to the deserts of western China, the Great Well was built some 2,200 years ago to resist marauding tribes from the north.

Most of the wall that you can see today was erected in the Ming Dynasty about 600 years ago.

What to expect: Pick one section and expect to spend at least a day exploring it.
Badaling (八达岭) and Mutianyu (慕田峪), both restored sections, are stunning to look at, but can be overwhelmed with crowds.

Instead, the Wall at the non-restored (or “wild”) sections, such as Huanghua (黄花) or Jiankou (箭口), remains the way the sentries left it.

Visitors may well have entire sections to themselves.

A driver for the day to most sections near Beijing costs about RMB 650 (US$100).

Insider tips: For a unique experience, consider camping on the wall. Several outfits organize overnight stays, where travelers can either sleep in a watchtower or in tents at the edge of the wall.

For hard-core athletes, the Great Wall Marathon is staged every May near Tianjin.

China Adventure Tours runs hikes ranging from one to 24 days (RMB 480-27,000 per person).

Mountain Biking Asia leads a five-day, 40-kilometer trek in Hebei province (from RMB 12,685 per person).

The Great Wall Marathon, www.great-wall-marathon.com

The Forbidden City (故宫)

What it is: Previously home to emperors and tyrants for some 500 years, and now the humble hangout of legions of tourists sheltering beneath phosphorescent orange hats, the Forbidden City is one of Beijing’s finest attractions.

It’s big enough -- sprawling over 720,000 square meters -- that you can find spots to enjoy on your own.

What to expect: The Forbidden City is great for wandering. It also hosts an extensive art collection under the charge of the Palace Museum.

The collection of imperial artwork and artifacts –- ceramics, paintings, calligraphy -- spans the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Both the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square across the street can be managed in half a day.

Insider Tips: To avoid the crowds, visit on weekdays as early in the day as possible.

For a remarkable view of the Forbidden City and surrounding cityscape, climb to the top of the hill in the middle of Jingshan Park (景山公园), just a few blocks north.

Forbidden City, 4, Jingshan Qian Jie, Dongcheng District 东城区景山前街4号; +86 10 6513 1892; open daily, 8 a.m.-5 p.m; admission: RMB60 in high season, RMB40 in low season, www.dpm.org.cn

Jingshan Park, 44, Jingshan Xi Jie, Xicheng District 西城区景山西街44号; +86 10 6403 8098; open daily 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m. (winter); 6 a.m.-9 p.m. (spring and autumn); 6 a.m.-10 p.m. (summer); admission: RMB 2

Tian’anmen Square (天安门广场)

What it is: Literally translated as “the gate of heavenly peace,” Tian’anmen, at 440,000 square meters, is the world’s largest public square.

Directly across from the Forbidden City, Tian’anmen is bordered by the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China, and is home to the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong.

What to expect: At first glance, Tian'anmen isn’t much to look at -- a big cement square with a massive Chinese flag in the center. But it’s worth checking out simply for its scale and the thousands of Chinese who come to see it.

Next to some of the most important buildings in China, it feels as if you’re in the heart of the nation.

Insider tips: Wake up early (or stay up late) and catch the daily flag-raising ceremony at dawn.

The National Museum (中国国家博物馆) is on the east side of the square. It reopened in 2011 as one of the largest museums in the world and offers a survey of Chinese history.

Rent a bike, and get lost in the local hutong alleyways south of the square.

Tiananmen Square subway stops: Tiananmen East Station (天安门东) or Tiananmen West Station (天安门西) on Metro Line 1, Qianmen Station (前门) on Metro Line 2. No admission fee.

Summer Palace (颐和园)

What it is: A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Summer Palace covers 2.9 square kilometers. Most of the palace grounds are taken up by Kunming Lake (昆明湖), which is dotted with pavilions, halls, palaces and temples.

Opened in 1750, the Qing imperial palace was mostly destroyed by foreign powers during the Second Opium War (1856-60) and restored in 1886.

What to expect: The Summer Palace is one of the most pleasant places in the city to stroll.

You can spend a morning climbing to the top of the Hill of Longevity (长寿山), relaxing on a paddleboat on Kunming Lake or wandering the gardens, halls and pavilions

Insider tips: For luxury travelers looking for a more relaxed stay in Beijing, Aman at the Summer Palace has rooms housed in century-old pavilions.

As an alternative to the Summer Palace, which can be crowded, there's the smaller and quieter imperial garden Old Summer Palace (圆明园), located near Tsinghua University, a fine example of Chinese landscape gardening.

The Summer Palace, Haidian District 海淀区颐和园; +86 10 6288 1144; open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; admission: RMB 30 in high season; RMB 20 in low season, www.summerpalace-china.com

Aman at the Summer Palace, 1 Gongmenqian Lu, Summer Palace, near Tongqing Jie 颐和园宫门前街1号, 近同庆街; +86 10 5987 9999; www.amanresorts.com. Nightly rates: from RMB 4,000.

Source: CNN Go By Mitch Moxley

Forbidden City's royal artifacts registered online

After 7 years of careful classification by museum curators, the Palace Museum has announced it’s close to completing its mammoth project of registering 18 million artifacts online. It won’t be long before everyone will have access to the huge collection at the click of a button.

This is an unprecedented project, not just in China, but internationally. The museum is adding the finishing touches to its database, which will be accessible by early next year.

The museum has also completed more than 45% of its restoration project. Areas of the Forbidden City that have hitherto been inaccessible to the public will now be opened up. The Donghua gate is among the sites to be restored allowing tourists a different perspective of the royal palace.

In addition, the museum is introducing its new ’digital museum’, offering 3D tours and seminars on the Forbidden City’s royal artifacts.

Source: CNTV

Forbidden City to publicize catalogue of its collections

China's Palace Museum will publicize a catalogue of all its collections of cultural relics, the museum's curator Shan Jixiang said Friday.

The museum had completed cataloguing all the relics in its archives in June after seven years of efforts, including about 53,000 paintings, 75,000 calligraphy works, 16,000 pieces of copperware and 10,000 sculptures.

The publication of these relics is to put the treasures under public supervision, said Shan, who believes the move will help better conserve the relics.

The Palace Museum, or the Forbidden city, located in the heart of Beijing, was built in 1420 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

It was the home of the emperor and the highest center of power for about 500 years.

The museum attracts more than 14 million visitors annually.

Forbidden City breaks down another barrier

Source: By Qu Yingpu, Zhao Huanxin and Yu Yilei (China Daily)

Once a fortress that no one could enter or leave without the emperor's permission, the Forbidden City is set to welcome visitors to another of its secluded zones. Our editorial team comprising Qu Yingpu, Zhao Huanxin and Yu Yilei gets a peek at what awaits.

The world will soon get to see more of the intriguing Forbidden City, home to generations of Chinese emperors spanning five centuries - at no extra cost.

With the opening of the secluded residence of empresses and imperial concubines, which lies to the west of Longzong Gate, visitors will enter into some of the crucial quarters of the Inner Court - once prohibited and punishable by death.

The decision to open up parts of the Inner Court to tourists is part of efforts by the world's largest palace complex to cater to the interests of the increasing number of visitors, curator Shan Jixiang said on Thursday.

The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. It has been known as the Palace Museum since 1925, soon after Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was evicted from the Inner Court.

"We received 14 million guests last year and expect to have 1 million more than that figure this year," Shan, former chief of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"We plan to expand the visiting zones from nearly half to two-thirds (of the Forbidden City) in the near future."

Located near the halfway point of the central north-south axis, Longzong Gate was the main entrance to the Palace of Benevolent Peace (Cining Gong) as well as the Palace of Longevity and Good Health (Shoukang Gong), on the western side of the museum.

The two palaces were formerly the residence and venues for entertainment and rituals for empresses and concubines in the Qing Dynasty.

What's in store has aroused as much curiosity as historical evidence of two arrow heads stuck on the gate since 1813 when rebellious farmers attacked the Forbidden City.

Reparation and restoration of the two palaces have been completed and workers are putting final touches to the adjoining Garden of Benevolent Peace. The palaces will open to the public along with the garden after renovation of the garden is completed at the end of this year, Shan said.

"The Palace of Longevity and Good Health will be presented as it would have appeared in dynastic times, while the Palace of Benevolent Peace will showcase a rich collection of sculptures," he added.

After being the home of 24 emperors - 14 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and 10 during the Qing Dynasty, the site that is now the Palace Museum is laden with legends and anecdotes, said Lin Shu, a researcher with the museum's department of palatial life and imperial rituals.

A one-story building in the Garden of Benevolent Peace, for instance, will tell the filial story of emperor Qianlong, who left his residence to stay there through the night to wait on his ailing mother. According to Lin, the emperor apparently made frequent visits for a month until his mother recovered. At a time, it was very rare for an emperor to leave his official residence.

More safety and exhibits

Nearly nine times as large as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Palace Museum welcomes the majority of visitors to its central north-south axis and southern Outer Court, where its ceremonial palaces are concentrated.

Besides the Palace of Benevolent Peace and the Palace of Longevity and Good Health, most quarters on the western and eastern sides of the imperial site are inaccessible to visitors, though an array of halls on both sides are open to showcase a fine collection of rare and valuable works of art.

The out-of-bounds zones are either under repair or used as offices, stores or for research purposes, according to museum sources.

Shan and his team vowed to change the situation.

"The research and office facilities have occupied a good part of the walled enclosure of the Palace Museum," said Shan. "They must move out and make room to exhibit our cultural relics."

The Palace Museum now holds a total of 1.8 million artifacts, of which over 93 percent are designated as nationally protected "valuable cultural relics", Shan cited from the museum's latest audit findings.

The area within the 8-meter-tall red walls accounts for two-thirds of the entire complex of the Palace Museum. If all the research, office and service personnel as well as materials within the walls are removed as planned by 2016, authorities could install better security measures to prevent thefts and fires, the curator added.

A notorious incident last May in which a 27-year-old farmer stole art from the museum has sparked public concerns over security loopholes in the Forbidden City.

Shan, appointed curator in February, pledged to employ "the world's most advanced security equipment and technology" and improve his employees' awareness of their responsibilities.

"Safety, especially fire prevention, is always our priority," Shan stressed.

To illustrate his point, Shan picked up a cigarette butt from the ground before entering the red walls that house the Palace of Benevolent Peace, and pointed to cameras hidden under the eaves of some buildings.

The fear of fire has been a constant threat for centuries and caused people to become superstitious. For example, almost all roofs in the Forbidden City are built with yellow glazed tiles symbolizing royalty, but the library at the Pavilion of Literary Profundity (Wenyuan Ge) had dark-colored tiles. The reason was that dark colors were associated with water, symbolic of fire prevention.

Better services

Standing near Longzong Gate, Shan said service booths selling food, drinks and souvenirs will be erected on the square for visitors once the gate is open. Currently, there is a temporary snack bar on the other side of the gate, which is less accessible to tourists, especially on windy days, Shan said.

He acknowledged that doing business in the museum had struck a raw nerve among some Chinese, who have a special attachment to the Palace Museum.

For example, the stall that served delicious but expensive beef noodles was shut down, and a Starbucks outlet that opened in 2000 was eventually closed after seven years due to a public outcry.

"Starbucks, McDonald's and other brands are considered sensitive (to many people), but their presence is not uncommon in museums in other countries," Shan said. "We have hordes of visitors from all over the world every day, often spending several hours in the museum, and they need different kinds of food and drinks."

The important thing for the museum is to ensure the needs of the visitors are well addressed, and the food served is healthy and diverse, Shan said. "We will not specify the brands. We care more about the variety and quality."

A former tour guide in Beijing, who identified herself only as Lu, said whenever she led tour groups from the southern entrance of the Meridian Gate (Wumen), all the way up to the northern exit of Gate of Divine Might (Shenwumen), many sang the praises of the spectacular palaces. But there were also others who complained of the lack of "priceless relics".

Shan said an exhibition hall spanning nearly 3,000 square meters will be created by using the space on the Meridian Gate and its two protruding wings.

Together with the Hall of Military Prowess, which houses a large collection of paintings and calligraphy works, and the Hall of Literary Glory which contains precious ceramics, they will serve as a cluster of mini-museums for visitors before entering the heart of the Forbidden City.

Shan also said the Palace Museum will open 28 ticket booths on the square between the Meridian Gate and the Upright Gate (Duanmen), to significantly cut short the waiting time for visitors.

Some of the booths will begin operation during the May Day holiday.

Palace Museum spruces up

Beijing's Palace Museum launched an eight-year campaign this week to remove all potential safety hazards, part of preparations for the imperial palace's 600th anniversary celebrations in 2020.

The museum, commonly known as the Forbidden City, houses 1.8 million cultural relics.

According to director Shan Jixiang, the 170,000-sq-m complex is vulnerable to fire, theft and earthquake as well as natural wear and tear.

"Our project will guarantee the safety of the architecture, the relics and the 15 million visitors who come here from all around the world every year," he said.

In the short term, Shan said, work will focus on eliminating threats from theft, extreme weather and stampedes by 2015, the 90-year anniversary of the Forbidden City's conversion into a public museum.

He said the first and most important work that needs to be done is the construction of the museum's north branch.

The Palace Museum owns a 476,000-sq-m site in northwestern Haidian district, 40 km from the city center.

The site, which used to be a brick kiln until 1997, will house a cultural heritage repair center in three to five years, part of which will be open to the public. There will also be an exhibition space, a greenhouse and a digital center.

There are also major plans for the main Palace Museum site. Its 22,000-sq-m underground storerooms will be enlarged by 6,000 sq m, and will feature modifications that automatically adjust the temperature and humidity.

In three years, all the academic institutes currently situated in the museum's Red Wall area will move to its southwest corner.

A new security system will be completed by the end of this year, and a new fire control system will be installed by the end of 2014.

Armed police will replace the museum's security guards, and smoking will be forbidden for all staff members.

The museum will also open and utilize more space for exhibitions. A 28,000-sq-m space in its southern area, including the Meridian Gate and the Goose Wing Buildings, will be put to use this year as exhibition space.

The same area will host a major exhibition in 2015 to celebrate the museum's 90th anniversary. Other areas will also be used for different purposes — for instance, the Imperial Kitchen will become a hall to exhibit ancient furniture, and the uncompleted Western-style Palace of Prolonging Happiness will display Western antiques.

A digital museum outside the Palace Museum's northern gate is being designed.

There will also be training workshops in traditional handicrafts such as the mounting of paintings and calligraphy.

Meanwhile, Shan said, routine repairs and maintenance will continue to be carried out. For example, the three-year restoration of the Xianruo Hall will be completed this year.

The safety project will be completed by 2020, when the Forbidden City is 600 years old, at the same time as the ongoing major repair project that was started since 2002.

"The project is a significant cultural construction, which will improve the Palace Museum's abilities in cultural heritage preservation, demonstration and public service, realizing its sustainable development," Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said when visiting the museum on Tuesday.

Source: By Zhang Zizuan (China Daily)

Forbidden city to open earlier during May-day holiday

BEIJING - The Palace Museum, more popularly known as Forbidden City, will open one hour earlier during the May-day holiday from April 29 to May 1, according to a statement issued by the museum on Friday.

According to the new schedule, the Forbidden City will start receiving tourists from 7:30 am and close at 5:00 pm during the nation's three-day holiday marking the International Workers' Day, a measure to accommodate the anticipated dramatic rise in visitor numbers.

The museum will also install nine more ticket booths during the holiday, taking the total number to 25. Certain booths are specifically for package tour groups, a measure designed to help avoid long queues.

Additionally, the museum will also exercise temporary flow control measures according to real-time monitoring of tourist flows, but those who book tickets online (gugong.228.com.cn) will be let in first, according to the statement.

The museum also announced that emergency plans were in place, to deal with fires, robbery, stampedes or other potential public security incidents.

The statement said that the Forbidden City received a total of 235,900 visitors during last year's May-Day holiday (April 30 to May 2), with an average of 80,000 visitors per day, doubling the average number of visitors in non-holiday period.

China's three-day May-day holiday, which falls around May 1st each year, usually results in a massive flow of population, as many take the opportunity to travel or go back to their hometowns.

Source: Xinhua

Palace Museum director talks about making the ancient modern

(Global Times) Lying in the center of Beijing, the 600-year-old former home of the emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the Forbidden City, used to be a symbol of supreme power.

Originally the isolated political and cultural center of China, when the palaces gates were first opened to the public as the Palace Museum 90 years ago, visitors from all over the country swarmed through its halls trying to get a peek into the lives of the imperial family. 

Even today the museum is a symbol of China's stern past, but even that is changing as management at the museum has been implementing changes to make the Palace Museum more welcoming to visitors: creating cute and high quality souvenirs, expanding exhibited areas, improving facilities and incorporating online and digital education. 

On December 22, Shan Jixiang, the director of the Palace Museum, sat down with the Global Times to explain his grand vision for the future of the museum. 

No comparison

"We were indeed relatively late in realizing there was a problem," Shan said when talking about the museum's plans to combine traditional culture and modern life. 

Many top museums around the world invest enormous effort in designing souvenirs that add artistic value to their museums. For example, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which shares the same origins as Beijing's Palace Museum, has won high praise for the mind-blowing creativeness of its souvenirs and other cultural products.

"We used to think of the Palace Museum as an organization that protects cultural relics, disseminates culture and educates the public, so we believed that cultural products that transmit knowledge and history were more suitable for us," Shan said. 

"But we were inspired by other museums," Shan said, explaining that previously their products were mainly replicas of relics such as porcelains, bronze wares or paintings - all things difficult for visitors on a trip to take with them - but over time their team realized people nowadays have a demand for various types of things and hope that souvenirs can be fun, portable and practical. "This is what we are exploring."

The Palace Museum's recent line of creative products made headlines several times last year for turning things like the string of beads worn by high officials in the Qing into earphones, or taking the design found on the hats of high level ministers and printing them on umbrellas. According to Shan, more high-end and well-designed products will be released this year. 

Also triggering wide discussion has been the museum's usage of modern technology such posting "time-travel" photos, which overlay antique photos over different areas of the Forbidden City, on social networks, as well as providing educational and fun iPad Apps on the Apple store. 

Shan's team has also changed the way they research and design products. "We rely on several designers who are constantly racking their brains and even call up other staff members to provide ideas," explained Shan, adding that they have also started collaborating with more cultural companies, began attending expos to find creative ideas and welcome independent designers to pitch their ideas. 

Shan explained that he is not afraid of comparisons to the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.

"In this respect, they started earlier than us, but we are fast catching up with them," he said. 

"We can also dig much deeper into our collection. Although we share the same roots, the variety and quantity of items that went to Taiwan are limited, here we have an advantage." 

This old palace

As the largest wooden building in China and a top museum in the world, trying to protecting the vast cultural heritage and relics inside the museum while welcoming a large number of visitors every day is no easy task. 

On May 8, 2011, seven relics in the museum were stolen, which led to public criticism about museum security. Additionally, the wooden nature of the palace means that fire, earthquakes and storage of relics have all been huge concerns over the years. 

"Security hadn't been updated in 14 years," said Shan, confessing to the problem that used to exist in the museum.

In order to surmount these problems, the Palace Museum has implemented its "Safe Museum, Secure Palace" project. Shan explained that they have set up new digital equipment and high-resolution cameras to improve security, as well as began working with different organizations such as the Seismological Bureau in order to secure the entire Forbidden City. 

Another program is the "Overall renovation" program, which began in 2002 and is expected to reach completion in 2020, the Forbidden City's 600th birthday. The plan calls for the repair and protection of a majority of the structures within the palace. 

Other renovations include improving the visitor environment by including more modern facilities and shutting down the excessive amount of low quality restaurants and food stands. Staff offices have also been relocated outside the museum's red walls in order to provide more breathing room for visitors.

Modern makeover

"The most upsetting thing for me is the rising number of visitors," Shan confessed. The museum received  150 million visitors last year and he projects that number will continue to rise over the next two years. Currently, daily visitors peak at around 180 thousand during the high season which makes it difficult to ensure visitor comfort and poses a danger to relics as well.  

He recalled that he once tried to control daily visits at 80,000 by stopping ticket sales, but that attempt failed when a large amount of visitors kept knocking and shouting at the museum's windows. 

In the end the police were needed to calm things down and the museum relented.

The museum is currently offering free visit days to people from different professions in an attempt to encourage people to come during off season.  Shan is also considering lowing ticket prices during this season in hopes of spreading out the number of visitors throughout the year.

"Our desire is to safely hand the palace over to the next 600 years," Shan said.

Source: Global Times by Li Jingjing

Forbidden City to close on Monday afternoons

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, will be closed every Monday afternoon from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2013, the museum stated yesterday.

Ticket sales will stop at 11:00 a.m, visitors will not be admitted after 11:10 a.m., and the museum will close at 12:00 a.m.

However, the museum will be open the whole day (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.), as usual, on Feb. 11, the second day of the Spring Festival holiday.

The new timetable will be applied to the following Mondays: Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28; Feb. 4, 18, 25; and March 4, 11, 18, 25.

Historic and cultural heritage artifacts, as well as several of the ancient buildings, will undergo maintenance and repair when the museum is closed.

Some 182,000 people visited the Forbidden City on Oct. 2 of last year, during the National Day holiday. This set an all-time high, not only for the former imperial palace in the heart of Beijing, but for any museum in the world, Director of the Palace Museum Shan Jixiang said.

Forbidden City repairs on way

The only Western-style building in China's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, a vast former imperial palace, will undergo an 18-month renovation, the museum's curator has said.

Built in 1915, the Baoyun Building is the only Western-style compound area and encompasses three two-story buildings and a gate left from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

It covers about 1,650 square meters and has been used to store numerous relics, thus the name "Baoyun," which literally means "treasure containing."

At Tuesday's launch ceremony for the repair project, curator Shan Jixiang noted the damage of varying degrees suffered by Baoyun's tiles, wooden structures, exterior and interior decorations, paintings and floors, stressing that "scientific and discreet renovation is urgently needed."

According to Shan, repair technicians will stick to the principle of "not altering the original state of cultural relics," and will try their best to use original crafts and methods and keep innate components to ensure style consistency.

After the planned completion in May 2015, Baoyun will mainly be used for exhibition, while some areas will be set aside for cultural research and academic exchanges, Shan added.

Renovation of Baoyun is part of a larger repair and construction movement that will cover some 13,025 square meters in the museum's western area, which Shan described as "suffering serious damage and containing great safety risks."

According to Shan, the overall project, due to wrap up in March 2016, is based on historical records, experts' advice and designs of similar areas in the museum.

The project aims to provide more space and convenience for relic protection, said Shan, adding that newly constructed buildings will house the museum's cultural protection technology department, which is currently using ancient buildings as offices.

Located in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City was home to China's emperors and was the highest center of power for about 500 years. It attracts more than 14 million visitors annually.

Source: xinhua

Palace Museum's revenue from cultural products nets 900 mln yuan

(Chinaculture.org) The cultural products developed by the Palace Museum will bring in revenues of 900 million yuan ($145.3 million) this year, which is 200 million yuan higher than its ticket proceeds, said Shan Jixian, curator of the Palace Museum.

According to the People's Daily, Shan Jixian recently said at a media consultation on the Palace Museum's cultural creative products, that up to August this year, the Palace Museum had designed and developed a total of 6,746 kinds of cultural products, and it will invest more in this field in the future.

This year, the museum never failed to catch people's eyes with its release of creative souvenirs, such as beaded earphones and a parasol shaped like an official's hat in its online shop, and the app A Day of the Emperor.

Shan Jixian said that the museum designs cute souvenirs to attract more visitors to take home Palace Museum culture. He also said that he hopes the creative products can deliver a concept of life long education, like the app A Day of the Emperor, which can teach both children and adults to learn about ancient culture.

The development of cultural products in the Palace Museum is not only driven by public demand, but also needs the support of advanced technology, Shan added.

According to museum staff, the newly developed app, "Emperor's Costume in the Qing Dynasty", will be online soon next year. The applied interactive technology allows users to virtually take off the emperor's clothes layer by layer and get to know the specific texture and information of the garment at one touch.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Palace Museum next year, the museum will bring new surprises to the public. Shan revealed that, the Palace Museum will open four new districts, and 3 digital museums located inside the Forbidden City and in the Olympic Park will also open their doors.

Source: Chinaculture.org

Forbidden City to Open More Areas to Visitors

(Xinhua) The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, will open more areas to the public ahead of its 90th anniversary, which is on Oct. 10, 2015, said museum curator Shan Jixiang on Tuesday night.

The renovation of the Yanchi House at the Meridian Gate is expected to be completed in May next year, which will be turned into a 2,800-square-meter exhibition hall to display world cultural relics.

In fact, the exhibition space is already booked-up through 2017, with museums across the world contacting the Palace Museum to register their interest.

Shan said the first exhibition in the hall would be for the 90th anniversary and that more than 80 percent of the items on display had never seen by the public before.

In addition, the western area of the palace, where the imperial women lived, will be open to the public for the first time, with the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, where the Empresses lived, will become a sculpture exhibition hall. Of the Palace Museum's 10,200 sculptures, 400 will be displayed initially.

The East Prosperity Gate, a former warehouse, will become a hall to display 4,900 examples of China's architectural prowess.

Duan Men, the southern-end main entrance, will display digital cultural items produced by the Palace Museum.

The Palace of Prolonging Happiness, a group of western-style buildings, will host foreign cultural relics .

Located in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City was home to China's emperors and was the highest center of power from 1420 to 1911. It attracts more than 15 million visitors annually.

Source: xinhua via cri

Forbidden City to Trial Free Open Days to 5 Professions

(CRI) The Forbidden City is trialing a free open day on the first Wednesday of every month during the off peak season.

The trial will start this December.

But only five groups of people can enjoy free passes, including teachers, college students, soldiers and police officers, medical staff and volunteers.

People of these professions can book their free passes online via http://gugong.228.com.cn.

Applicants can make their booking up to ten days in advance. But bookings for the day will be not accepted.

After booking, applicants should take their ID cards and occupation certificates before entering the Forbidden City.

The arrangement of free open days for the Forbidden City is as following:

Date	Professions
December 3, 2014	Teachers
January 7, 2015	College students
February 4, 2015	Soldiers and police officers
March 4, 2015	Medical staff
April 1, 2015	Volunteers

Forbidden City issues annual passes

(Xinhua) The Forbidden City in Beijing has started sale of one-year passes to better its service, according to a statement from the museum on Tuesday.

It is the first time the Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, has issued annual passes.

An ordinary pass is priced at 300 yuan (about 49 U.S. dollars), while passes catering to special groups including senior citizens and students cost 150 yuan.

Pass holders will be eligible to visit the museum 10 times in a year, according to the statement.

However, in order to ease the traffic in peak season, the passes can not be used during the seven-day National Day holiday, beginning on Oct. 1, according to the statement.

Currently, a typical ticket costs 60 yuan.

Source: xinhua via china.org

Palace Museum to be more visitor-friendly

The head of the Palace Museum, Shan Jixiang, suggested parking lot and administrative offices be moved out of the Forbidden City as the museum is facing an increasing pressure of "space security," the Beijing-based Beijing Times reported.

Shan, also a member of the national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said the museum is now "too crowed with visitors as well as cars."

The museum welcomed 15.34 million visitors in 2012 and more than 14.56 million in 2013, making it the most-visited museum in the world.

The parking lot of the museum accommodates more than 750 cars owned by museum staffers, and offers 650 more places for temporary parking.

Shan said that the parked cars have not only become an eyesore to the general view of the museum, but also posed a safety concern - cars passing across the museum could put visitors and the ancient buildings in danger.

Still, the museum has another problem unsolved: 194 rooms occupied as administrative offices mean a smaller visiting area for visitors.

Shan therefore proposed rebuilding surrounding houses, located between the moat and the outside walls of the Forbidden City, for administrative offices.

Source: china daily via china.org.cn

Forbidden City to be closed every Monday

The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, expanded its closures from Monday afternoons to the entire day, a move the museum said will better preserve its relics and allow enough time each week to maintain them.

"We want to give the architectural and cultural relics a break. But it's not a break for the museum staff. In fact, there is a ton of work to do on Mondays so that the visitors can experience a safer and better Palace Museum," said museum director Shan Jixiang.

The museum, which announced the expanded closures on Monday, had been operating all year round since the 1980s but began to close its doors every Monday afternoon last year to allow for maintenance and housecleaning, Shan said.

Staff members start their housecleaning from the central axis of the palace. In Taihe Dian, or the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where the emperors once held ceremonies, the floor's "golden bricks" have to be cleaned with mops soaked in kerosene.

Previously, the bricks were only cleaned shortly before visitors arrived at 8:30 am, but now staff members have an entire day each week to clean the tiles. Shan said this is the first time that the museum has had enough time to thoroughly clean Taihe Dian in 10 years.

"In ancient times, it took nine years to manufacture these bricks. Once they are damaged, it is impossible to fix them because they are no longer made and cannot be replaced," he said.

The Dragon Throne of the Emperor of China, which features nine wooden sculptures of dragons, is dusted with banister brushes and cotton swabs.

The Forbidden City served as the imperial palace for the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. With 980 buildings and an area of 720,000 square meters, it is considered the largest existing ancient wooden structure in the world.

Fire safety is a key concern for the museum. Temporary housing used as ticket offices are constructed of flammable material. Such housing will be removed and replaced with buildings of safer materials, Shan said. The museum also launched a fire drill on Monday.

All of the exhibition cabinets, interior lighting, signage and posters will be examined and refurbished.
The new signage will echo the palace's interior.

The museum is slated to examine any damage to the walls in the palace this year. Repairs will begin next year.

The museum is planning to change the exhibition in the Antiquarium on a monthly basis, Shan said. The exhibition in the Antiquarium has not been changed since 2006 because many of the exhibits like silk and paper are not suitable to be exposed to the air for a long period of time.

Source: By Sun Yuanqing (China Daily)

Palace Museum implements Monday closure

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in central Beijing will be closed to the public every Monday for renovation and maintenance starting on Jan. 6, it announced Sunday.

The decision was made by museum authorities in November and went into effect on Jan. 1, according to a Palace Museum statement.

The former imperial palace had been closed on Monday afternoons since January 2013. The closure is being extended to cover the whole of Monday.

Ancient architecture will be renovated, cultural relics protected and museum staff will receive training, the statement said.

On public holidays and Mondays during July and August, the museum will be open, it added.

In the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City was home to China's emperors and was the highest center of power for about 500 years. It attracts more than 14 million visitors annually.

Source: xinhua via china.org.cn