Shanghai museum free admission initiative draws crowds

Queues formed outside museums in Shanghai yesterday as they waived admission fees.

Around 122 museums in Shanghai that usually have an admission charge opened for free to help mark International Museum Day.

The Long Museum, the China Maritime Museum and the Shanghai International Automobile Museum were among those attracting queues.

Demand took some museum staff by surprise.

"We were unprepared to see such long queues outside the museum today," said Li Jing, head of media at the Long Museum West Bund.

"Since we opened in March, we've attracted about 100 visitors a day. But yesterday nearly 12,000 people visited the museum, and about 4,000 visited the Long Museum Pudong," Li said.

The museums, established by art collector couple Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei, are renowned for their Chinese art collections.

"I waited for two hours outside with a friend to see this private museum," said a 36-year-old white collar worker at Long Museum West Bund.

"The reason is simple, because the usual admission fee of 50 yuan (US$8) is a bit expensive."

Other museums that usually charge also saw a surge. The China Maritime Museum had 16,000 visitors, the Shanghai Auto Museum attracted 20,408 and 5,527 visited the Shanghai Film Museum.

"Admission for some museums is a bit high for ordinary working people," said Jia Yanmei, a 35-year-old mother.

"I just hope that these museums can offer us more free days" she added.