Bronze animal heads attract 50,000 visitors a day   

鼠首兔首国内首次展出火爆 每日接待约5万观众

圆明园鼠首兔首自7月18日首次在国家博物馆亮相以来，引发了众多游客的关注。记者21日在国家博物馆看到，鼠首兔首的展柜被团团围住，游客争相拍照留念。现场的工作人员透露，每日观看鼠首兔首的观众大约有四、五万。 [查看全文]

(ECNS) -- The bronze rat and rabbit heads on display at the National Museum of China in Beijing have attracted nearly 50,000 visitors every day since last Thursday, according to the museum.

The relics were among 12 animal head sculptures that formed a zodiac water clock that once stood at Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, in northwest Beijing. The heads were lost for over a century after being looted by Anglo-French Allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860, but were returned by the wealthy Pinault family of France in April this year.

There has been some public concern about the authenticity of the statues, but workers at the museum denied the possibility of forgery.

The museum has also taken measures to protect the relics from the massive number of visitors, such as forbidding the use of flash photography.