Chinese museums receive nearly 1 billion visits during Jan-Aug period

BEIJING -- Chinese museums registered 940 million visits in the first eight months of this year, maintaining their popularity among Chinese visitors in recent years, official data showed on Wednesday.

The country's National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) released the figure at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

About 300 million visits were made in two months during the summer season, accounting for nearly a third of the total figure, said Liu Yang, an NCHA official.

Hot spots like the Palace Museum and the National Museum of China in Beijing have become the top destinations among Chinese travelers, according to Liu.

The growing public enthusiasm for museums during the summer break came with measures taken by nationwide museums, such as streamlining booking services and extending opening hours, to better serve the visitors, Liu noted.

The administration will step up efforts in terms of coordinating the development of different types of museums, optimizing booking and commentary services, and ensuring more access to online and offline exhibitions, to further meet people's cultural needs in the future, Liu added.

China has seen a surging demand for visiting museums in recent years, with 1.29 billion visits to a total of 6,833 officially registered museums throughout 2023.