Palace Museum website overwhelmed by night tour demand

But in the middle of the night the ticket booking system broke down — too many people visited the website at the same time.

"I was sitting in front of the computer around 11:45 p.m. to grab tickets, only to find the website melted down. When I managed to open the website, all the tickets sold out," said Du Yue, a freelance photographer who wishes to record the night view of the Palace Museum.

The crash of the website has disappointed many visitors, yet it shows the appeal of the Palace Museum.

Also, "Night tour of Palace Museum" has become one of the hottest topics on China's Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo at present, attaining more than 330 million hits among the online users. 

"I am a loyal fan of Chinese costume dramas and curious to see the night scenery of the Palace Museum. Could the night tour be extended more days to meet the public's demand?" Sina Weibo user Xiao Hongshu456 asked on the official account of the Palace Museum.

"Palace Museum once again amazes me. Although I am not the lucky dog to gain the ticket, I will be excited to see many breathtaking photos from professional photographers," added another Weibo user Man Xiaoqing.