Beijing's Palace Museum on Wednesday announced raising its daily limit of visitors ahead of the eight-day National Day holiday.
Considering the city's current epidemic situation as well as the growth in people's travel demand during the Golden Week, the historical site will allow 30,000 visitors per day starting October 1, a jump from the previous cap of 12,000 in late July. It will remain open every day throughout the holiday.
The tickets are going quite fast. Tickets can be purchased 10 days in advance via its official online ticketing system. As of Wednesday, the holiday tickets have all been sold out, according to the museum's official website.
A screenshot of the Palace Museum's official website showing that the tickets for the upcoming eight-day National Day holiday have already been sold out.
The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was built on the base of the former imperial compound that spreads around 720,000 square meters. Its historical and cultural values have been widely acclaimed worldwide. Today, it's one of the most-visited museums in the world.
This year also marks the 600th anniversary of the historical site. It launched a special exhibition titled "Everlasting splendor: Six centuries at the Forbidden City" in September, displaying over 450 cultural legacies and historical photos at the Meridian Gate – the main entrance to the site. Some of the exhibits have been displayed for the first time.
Read more: Forbidden City inaugurates exhibition to celebrate its 600th birthday
The Palace Museum was closed in late January to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, and partially reopened during the May Day holiday with a daily cap of 5,000 visitors. It has since seen a gradual lifting of the restrictions as the coronavirus eased.
(Cover: The corner tower, one of the landmarks of the Palace Museum, in Beijing, China, September 29, 2020. /CFP)