The Palace Museum in Beijing announced on Tuesday that it has begun to sell entry tickets solely¹ through its online booking system.

 

北京故宫博物馆周二宣布，今后仅可在其在线订票系统购买门票。
 

 

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.

 

Online ticket booking is available on the official website, www.dpm.org.cn.

 

To relieve the heavy pressure and safety concerns brought by huge crowds, a daily visitor quota² 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 promotion³, 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.

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