[Photo by Zhao Xin/China Daily]

Beijing’s landmark tourist attraction the Palace Museum announced on Thursday that a three-day pilot program, which offers half-price entrance tickets off peak hours, was in operation.

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The trial program is from Sept 11 to Sept 14, during which time tourists who visit the spot after 2 pm can book the half-price tickets through the Palace Museum’s tickets reservation system (http://gugong.228.com.cn).

The initiative is taken with the aim to ease pressure from overcrowding during peak hours.

The program has been well-received among visitors. Nearly 1,400 tourists managed to book the 30 yuan discounted tickets by 8 am on Sept 11, the first day of the trial session.

 Although the new measure is welcomed, there are also voices of concern. Some visitors said that the visiting time for discounted tickets is so short that they couldn’t finish the tour.

"Even if you walk fast, you can only cover one quarter of the whole scenic area, so I suggest the ticket price be lowed to 1/4 of its original price", one netizen wrote.