Palace Museum plans to move out half staff for more public s

The Palace Museum plans to move out half of its staff in the next three years in an effort to vacate more space for the public, Shan Jixiang, director of the museum said on Friday.

Shan made the remarks at the fifth Tsinghua Tongheng academic Week Forum held in Beijing. The five-day forum, with a focus on urban design and cultural heritage protection, wrapped up on Friday a day ahead of China's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day.

Currently, 1,500 employees work for the museum. "Around 750 employees whose daily work is to preserve ancient buildings and cultural collections will stay in the museum," Shan said. While the rest, including the director and deputy director will vacate the museum. As a result, about 830 private vehicles will be moved out, Shan added.

"This plan will certainly annoy many people. But the museum is a public area, it can't be occupied by individuals," he said.

With an area of 72 hectares, the Palace Museum houses an extensive collection based on the former imperial collection. It was the imperial palace of China for five centuries until the early 20th century. Over 15 million people visit the place annually.

In 2012, only 30% areas of museum was open to the public while the number surpassed 65% three years later. "In 2016, 76% was open to the public, and we hope the percentage will get over 80% three years later," Shan said. 

"The museum plays an important role in people's life. We should let our cultural resources integrate into people's life as much as possible," he said.