The Palace Museum, otherwise known as the Forbidden City, is regaining its glitz as the UNESCO-listed ancient building complex opens to the public again. Those looking to tour the venue need to make online reservations, and the daily number of visitors is limited to 5,000. All 25,000 tickets within the five-day May Day holiday were booked out in fewer than 12 hours.

Reopen with precautions

The Palace Museum stopped admitting visitors from January 25 amid nationwide measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Though Beijing has lowered its emergency response level and lifted travel restrictions to welcome the holiday, there is still the pressure of the epidemic prevention for high-density gathering in tourism attractions, like the Palace Museum. 

So every step of the reopening is precarious. "Health codes," which can be applied for via a local health app, are required before entering the compound. Visitors only need to scan their ID card when entering the whole process of has realized "none-contact rules."

Those who are found to have body temperatures higher than 37.3 degrees Celsius or display symptoms of coughing and shortness of breath will be denied entry. Visitors are also required to wear face masks throughout their visit and distance themselves from others. 

Under the passenger flow limitation, the crowd density of this May Day holiday was much lower than that of the past, which used to accommodate up to 80,000 people per day. 

Indoor exhibitions remain closed

Visiting along the central axis of Forbidden City is the best route when portions such as the Treasure Gallery and the Gallery of Clocks remain closed.

This route starts from Meridian Gate, or Wumen Gate in Chinese, marking the south end of the Palace Museum. Passing through it and across the Golden Water Stream, you will reach the three main halls in the outer court. 

From here, go straight to the inner court, which was once the imperial living quarters and the workplace for the emperors. 

The Imperial Garden, where royal families took their strolls, is located at the north of the inner court. The peonies blossom in the imperial garden would be a great view during early May. 

Online visual tours during closure

The Palace Museum rolled out a series of online exhibitions and interactive apps during the three-month closure due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Housing nearly 1.9 million antique items, the museum has upgraded its "digital cultural relic storage" with numerous high-definition (HD) images of cultural relics added to its database last year.

The digital gallery currently includes cultural relics of all varieties from the palace collection as more than 52,500 digitized items have gone online, including paintings, sculptures, jade ware, textiles, porcelain, and antique clocks. Besides, thanks to a program called "The Panoramic Palace Museum," people can pay a virtual visit to the museum. 

Other than the Palace Museum, libraries and museums nationwide are gradually reopening after the May Day holiday, including the National Museum, Capital Museum, and other provincial museums. The National Library will resume as well from May 12, with reservations.