Beginning June 13, only 80,000 visitors in one day will accommodated in the Forbidden City in Beijing. According to Xinhuanet, the management of one of China's historic landmarks has decided to cut down the number of tourists to aid in the efforts of preserving the sacred site. In the report, an estimated 15 million visitors in a year flock to the country's ancient seat of power. Inside the fortress is the Imperial Palace that served as the home of China's emperors for many centuries.

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Under the new policy, visitors will have to comply with an online registration system prior to getting entry. The procedure will require them to register in advance using their real names and present valid identification documents, including their passport. The traditional on-site ticket booths will be removed and travel agencies will have book group tickets online, eChinacities reported. The move aims to ease the impact of human activity on the ancient architecture and relics, the museum administration further stated.

Early in June, a nude photo shoot inside the palace grounds stirred heated discussions online. A photographer, who goes by the handle name "WANIMAL," posted pictures of women in nude or in skimpy outfits on his Sino Weibo account. In one photo, a crowd of tourists can be seen across from a model flashing her underwear to the camera. The other featured a completely naked woman straddling the head of an ancient dragon marble head.  A wildfire of reactions spread, putting both the photographer and the museum administration in hot waters. 

In a statement issued days after the incident, the Forbidden City officials clarified that they did not grant consent to the photo shoot and that their staff attempted to stop it. Scenes from surveillance cameras showed four visitors rushing into the palace grounds from the Meridian Gate. The same visitors were later found shooting the forbidden pictures near the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Asia One reported.

As a response to the online outcry, the management expressed its condemnation of the photo shoot and tagged it a "breach of ethical and moral boundaries." The statement further described it as a "disrespect to the relics" and called on to the public to denounce such act. Meanwhile, Ecns previously reported that a local tourism expert even recommended that the photographer should be included among the blacklisted tourists. 

With the online registration system, tourists with their names on China's blacklist will not be able to secure entry. Visitors will have to present IDs rather than tickets upon entering the Forbidden City, according to eChinacities. 

TagsForbidden City China, Wanimal, Nude Photo Shoot Forbidden City