YANG SHUCHENG, 65, felt excited after seeing some of the country’s greatest cultural relics up close during a visit to the National Museum of China in Beijing during the National Day holidays.

He felt some regret over not visiting the museum sooner because he did not want to pay the museum’s admission fee, which was waived this year.

The museum reopened in March after renovations, exempting every visitor from paying the previous ticket fee of 20 yuan (US$ 3.1). Although it seems like an almost negligible amount, the fee was prohibitive for some visitors, like Yang.

Like the National Museum, most of the museums around China no longer charge admission fees. According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH), 1,893 museums and memorial sites accept visitors free of charge.

The free admission policy triggered a sharp increase in the number of visitors to museums across the country. According to statistics compiled by SACH last year, the number of visitors increased by 50 percent in the first year after the government urged all museums to open without ticket fees.

The Central Government issued a notice in early 2008, calling for free admission at all museums and memorial sites administered under SACH.

The Central Government allots 2 billion yuan in subsidies annually in order to maintain the operation of museums.

Cheng Jianzheng, curator of the Shaanxi Historical Museum in Northwest China, said that the museum’s infrastructure and services improved greatly after it received 50 million yuan from both the central and provincial governments.

After more than 30 years of economic prosperity and social stability, China is now paying more attention to its culture, heritage and arts — fields which are seen as not being very profitable compared to finance or manufacturing.

But new problems are arising, as some major museums face issues with service capabilities due to the increase in visitors. Meanwhile, abolishing ticket fees has not helped smaller museums attract visitors.

(Xinhua)