Beijing's Forbidden City has announced it will begin to limit the number of annual visitors for 'protection purposes', Xinhua reports.
The UNCESCO World Heritage Site currently receives between seven to 14 million tourists per year, a figure which officials have deemed unsustainable due to ongoing renovation work.
Shan Jixiang, the museum curator, said the management had been looking to find ways to control the number of visitors to ensure the protection of the cultural relic, while at the same time continuing to serve the public.
The comprehensive plan includes prohibiting annual ticket holders from visiting during peak seasons and establishing two free-entry days off-season, when fewer than 80,000 visitors are allowed to obtain tickets online.
Major projects to restore cultural relics, rebuild infrastructure and remould underground storehouses were also laid out, alongside the decision to ban the sale of snacks, remove some of the railings and open two tourists centres in the restructured Imperial Garden, Shan announced.
The State Council-approved plan also intends to build a state-of-the-art museum in the Forbidden City by 2020, when the site will celebrate its 600th anniversary.
Situated in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City served as the imperial palace for the Chinese emperors for over 500 years. It was closed off to visitors for hundreds of years, with only the emperor, his immediate family, officials and servants allowed to enter, hence the name.
[Image via CNS]
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