Forbidden City’s half-day closure extended

Beijing’s top tourist attraction, the Forbidden City, receives huge crowds everyday. Thankfully, the ancient palace compound is now finally getting its some much needed break from the scores of visitors, that walk through its gates everyday. After the implementation of the half-day closure policy from January this year, Monday afternoons will continue to be closed to the end of this year.
At the heart of Beijing is the Forbidden City.
For almost 600 years, it served as the home of emperors. It houses the largest collection of well-preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
But the Palace Museum has been extremely busy. Tourists from all over the world fill the site every day.
Shan Jixiang, president of The Palace Museum, said:"During the national holiday last year, the city’s one-day record reached 180-thousand visitors. The Forbidden City is a World Heritage Site and we must take measures to protect it."
Considering the big demand from holiday travellers, the Museum won’t close on legal holidays and during the summer from July to August.
Moreover, during the upcoming Qingming Festival holiday, temporary routes have been designed to avoid congestion in the Imperial Garden.
But, some will have to visit another day.
"We arrived yesterday and we were really looking forward to going inside but what can we do, just cry."
The museum gets rest, but the staff don’t. They will carry out maintenance work on the ancient buildings and relics.
Li Ji, vice president of The Palace Museum, said:"Our staff is very busy everyday even during holidays. There is no time for training at all. The half-day closure allows us to provide some professional training for them."
Finally there’s some time for inspection and maintenance.
And, there is a lot more to be done, as the Museum gets ready to open more areas to the public in the coming days.