According to Chinanews.com, in an interview on July 28 at the Beijing International Media Center, Vice Minister Zhang Bo of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage said that by next year, 1200 of China's national museums will be free of charge. Cultural relic sites and museums that cannot open free of charge will decrease their admission fees accordingly. These include the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Terracotta Warriors of the first Qin emperor in Xi'an.
In 1905, at the end of the Qin dynasty, pioneer Zhang Jian founded the first museum in China – Nantong Museum. Through more than a century of a development, China now has over 2400 museums, ninety percent of which are national institutions. Starting in January of this year, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and other departments determined that national museums and memorials in China would begin to drop their admission fees.
Zhang Bo explained that this year, over 600 museums have already become free, and next year over 600 more will drop admission fees. This also means that more than half of the over 2400 museums in the country will be free next year. However, museums run by individuals or by businesses do not fall under this category.
By People's Daily Online
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