Palace Museum announces tickets now only available online

BEIJING -- The Palace Museum has announced that all entrance tickets are now being sold online, a move to save visitors from queuing to buy tickets at the gate.

Oct 2 was the first day the museum, also known as the Forbidden City, sold all its 80,000 daily tickets online.

For visitors who have not bought tickets in advance, museum staff will assist them to purchase tickets on their mobile devices by scanning a QR code.

Based on current sales data, between 15,000 to 20,000 tickets per day are available to be purchased on site using the QR code. That amount is approximately what was previously sold through 30 ticket booths in two hours.

For visitors who are unable to purchase their tickets online, for example the elderly, foreign tourists or those without e-payment, staff at the museum can book tickets online on their behalf.

A trial of the online ticketing service began on Sept. 25, 2011. By August this year, around 77 percent of the tickets were booked online.

The museum began to limit daily visitors to 80,000 in June 2015, preventing excessive numbers of tourists during holiday periods.

Since 2012, the museum has received at least 15 million visitors each year, with the number of visitors hitting 16 million last year.