Museums are popular but ease of entry is history

Before the holiday, the National Cultural Heritage Administration had encouraged museums to present Spring Festival-related shows and activities to attract people to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit at museums.

The administration says that about 2,200 exhibitions and activities were planned by 900 museums across China, such as the display of images or relics pertaining to the Chinese Zodiac, especially those related to the rabbit. Another popular draw was the opportunity to participate in Chinese calligraphy, particularly writing the character fu (good fortune), while sending uniquely designed red envelopes with patterns from museum collections to visitors also proved popular. Many museums even extended their opening hours to 8 pm to accommodate more visitors.

Known for its exotic-looking bronze statues and gold masks, Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, Sichuan province, held a prayer ceremony for auspiciousness during the holiday. It attracted so many tourists that it hit headlines and topped the list of hot topics on micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo.

According to the museum, it received 115,600 visitors during the holiday week. To avoid jams and guarantee the safety of the relics, the museum introduced new regulations and policies, and had more staff members on duty during the vacation.

In Shanghai, people lined up outside museums to see shows displaying Western masterpieces. A queue formed at 6 am outside the Shanghai Museum for its show Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces From the National Gallery, London, which features 52 oil paintings by masters collected by London's National Gallery. Shanghai Museum says that in five days, about 34,000 people came through the doors, up 82 percent compared to last year.

Zhang Haijun, deputy director of Changsha Museum in Hunan province, says that museums have provided excellent exhibits, interesting and fun activities for people to explore, as well as employing the latest technology to make presentations more sophisticated and memorable.

"Museums no longer just present exhibitions. We offer a good cultural experience," Zhang says.