The Palace Museum in Beijing-China’s former imperial palace, or Forbidden City-announced on Tuesday that it has begun to sell entry tickets solely through its online booking system, with few exceptions.
周二,北京故宮-中國前皇室宮殿,又名紫禁城宣布除少數特例外,開始只通過線上訂票系統售賣門票。
The move is designed "to avoid crowds at the box office, reduce waiting time and provide a more comfortable visiting experience", said Shan Jixiang, director of the museum.
博物館館長山吉祥表示:“此舉設計旨在避免售票口人潮,減少等候時間,提供更舒適的訪問體驗。”
Online ticket booking is available on the official website, www.dpm.org.cn.
線上訂票系統在官網www.dpm.org.cn上可以進入。
To relieve the heavy pressure and safety concerns brought by huge crowds, a daily visitor quota of 80,000 was set in June 2015, and an online ticketing system was launched. On launch day, about 7,500 of the day’s 50,000 visitors-about 15 percent-bought tickets online. By 2016, the number had expanded dramatically to 40 percent. As of August, it has mushroomed to 77 percent.
"Because of our promotion, more people are buying tickets online," Shan said. "The online platform also facilitates analysis of big data, which can lead to better service in the future."
Shan said web-only ticket sales worked so well during the recent National Day holiday that a decision was made to make it permanent.
山說,國慶節期間,僅網絡售票進展地很好,決定將這種形式固定下來。
On Oct 2, for example, all 80,000 entry tickets were sold in advance online.
以10月2日為例,共計八萬張門票提前在網上售出。
"We thought it was time to formally adopt web-only ticket sales after a long trial," he said, adding that follow-up measures will be taken to solve some remaining problems.
"For example, a huge crowd came to the museum in the morning, but the entrance was virtually deserted in the afternoon," he said.
他說:“比如,大量人群早上來故宮,但是下午入口實際上幾乎沒有用處。”
On average, more than 7,000 people entered the museum between 10 and 10:30 am during the eight-day holiday. The number dropped below 3,000 between 1:30 and 2 pm.
The booking system will provide tickets at different visiting hours to balance the number of visitors throughout the day.
訂票系統將在不同的參觀時間提供門票,以平衡全天游客數量。
Tuesday marked the 92nd anniversary of the Forbidden City’s opening as a public museum. It welcomed 16 million visitors in 2016, topping all museums in the world.
周二是故宮成為公共博物館92周年紀念日。2016年它迎接了一千六百萬游客,名列全球博物館前茅。
It rolled out its web-only ticketing plan for public comment in May. Some people thought it might be an inconvenience for anybody unfamiliar with internet. But Shan said museum employees carrying a QR code for the ticket-booking system walk around the square near the entrance to help people in need.