(Photo : The Chinese Palace Museum)

One of Shan Qixiang's most favorite things is to climb up the tower of the Meridian Gate watching the visitors passing through the gate. He is the director of the Palace Museum. During the travelling seasons, thousands of people come to the Palace Museum. All the visitors will go through the way between the Meridian Gate and the Duanmen before entering the museum. There is a square between the Meridian Gate and the Duanmen, about 30,680 square meters. The square seems like a buffer zone for the Palace Museum. This summer, people are better organized than before, due to the improvements of the museum and the inspection system. 

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On August 14^th, Shan Qixiang was excited to show our journalist around the museum. Some new features have been added, and some old things have been removed. Now, thirty ticket windows are in service to ensure the visitors to get tickets within 3~5 minutes. If the waiting time is longer than 15 minutes, the museum will open more ticket windows. The new restroom locates in the southern part of the Duanman, which is twice larger than the previous one. Several vending machines are around the museum so that the visitors can get the drinks while they are waiting to purchase the tickets.

The last step of entering the museum is the security inspection. Currently, there are twenty checking-in entries, six security inspection machines, and more than 64 professionally trained security guards. "In the past days, our staff worked as the security guards. From now on, we have the professional security guards and they will ensure the safety " The museum is made of wood, so it is important to have adequate fire control system. Shan Qixiang used to clean up the cigarette butts. However since August 15^th, no littering is allowed in the museum. Most of the visitors said they understood the new requirements.

In addition, a digital museum has been founded inside the Duanmen. People can have a brief look of the museum before they start the tour. In that case, they can plan their visits in advance and save more time. There are many other new tools to help the visitors to explore the museum.

"To satisfy the visitors and to ensure their safety are the two most important tasks for me. If anyone knows how to improve my work, just let me know." Shan Qixiang told our journalist.