Palace, National museums to partially open Friday

The Palace Museum and the National Museum of China in Beijing announced on Wednesday night (Beijing time) to "gradually resume opening-up in a good order" starting Friday, after having been closed for more than three months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Both venues in the heart of Beijing, having the two biggest museum collections in China, were closed before the Spring Festival in order to contain COVID-19.

For the Palace Museum, an ID card is needed to make an online advance reservation, which will be taken up to 10 days before a planned visit. There will be a cap of 5,000 daily visitors (3,000 in the morning and 2,000 in the afternoon). The cap used to be 80,000 before the outbreak.

Museum authorities announced that the number of visitors will be adjusted as the COVID-19 situation changes.

Only parts of the compound, mostly the outdoor areas, will accept visitors starting Friday.

In the National Museum of China, the quota of daily visitors will be 3,000, and online reservations are available seven days in advance.

Guests will have their temperature taken prior to entering the museums, and "green" QR codes on mobile phones signifying good health also are required.

More information can be found on the official websites of the two museums:

The Palace Museum: http://en.dpm.org.cn/

The National Museum of China: http://en.chnmuseum.cn/