Primary and middle school students will have free admission to 16 museums in Beijing beginning Jan. 1 next year, the Beijing Bureau of Cultural Relics has announced.

Liu Chaoying, an official with the bureau, said that the new policy would attract pupils and teenagers to acquire more knowledge, an important part of their education.

The free museums include the Capital Museum, Beijing Art Museum, and other special museums in the field of ancient architecture, coins, stone cutting, literature and religion.

The policy is only applicable to Beijing students. Those from outside the municipality and abroad would still have to pay, Liu said.

The 16 museums are visited by about 1 million visitors each year and 60 percent are students. The museums would receive government subsidies to compensate for an expected 5 million yuan (600,000 US dollars) drop in takings under the new policy, said Liu.

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