Beijing closes tourist attractions amid virus

The Palace Museum in Beijing announced on Thursday evening it would be temporarily closing its doors on Saturday because of the need to control the new coronavirus pneumonia disease.

All tickets that were booked online will be refunded.

The date of the museum's reopening will be released at a future time.

Also on Thursday, Prince Kung's Mansion in Beijing announced it would temporarily stop receiving visitors on Friday for an indefinite period.

In addition, the Spring Festival fairs in Beijing's Ditan Park and Longtan Park, which are both traditional annual celebrations for Lunar New Year, have been cancelled.

People have also been stopped from visiting the capital's Peking University and Tsinghua University.

The Capital Museum in Beijing said the institution will continue to open during the Spring Festival, but all public lectures, education programs, and lunar New Year fairs at the location will no longer be held.

And the National Library of China and the National Art Museum of China will be closed from tomorrow.

National Museum of China also will be temporarily closing, starting from Jan 25, according to its official WeChat account.