As epidemic wanes, cultural sites once again greet visitors

Before Spring Festival, the outbreak of COVID-19 forced thousands of museums to close their doors.

However, it has also inspired many museums to ramp up the digitalization of their collections and host lectures in cyberspace, on livestreaming platforms and social networking accounts.

Nevertheless, as the battle against the epidemic－domestically, at least－appears to be in its twilight hour, museums nationwide are gradually unlocking their closed doors to welcome physical visitors back inside.

The reopening of museums is being undertaken with caution, though.

On Feb 27, the National Cultural Heritage Administration released its guidance, allowing Chinese museums to receive visitors again with "a good order", according to the conditions of the viral outbreak in specific cities.

As the national administration demands, compulsory measurement of body temperature upon entry, online reservation with ID cards, digital guidance, a set quota of daily visits, among other policies, have been implemented to ensure the safety of visitors and staff.

According to the latest statistics from the administration, over 180 museums in 19 provinces, municipalities, or autonomous regions, have reopened as of Sunday. Another 64 museums have either opened or are scheduled to open this week.

Different places have also drafted their own guidance for the step-by-step resumption of operation by these institutions. As the guidance of the National Cultural Heritage Administration points out, its reopening policy is not "ubiquitous", but to "make tailored plans to specific museums".

In Shanghai, the list includes major museums and memorials such as Shanghai Museum, the Memorial for the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and Shanghai Songhu Memorial Hall for the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Shanghai Museum began to receive visitors on Friday. Up to 2,000 visitors are allowed per day. Visitors wear masks and keep distance of at least 1.5 meters from each other after entering the venue. Those whose body temperature is above 37.3 C will not be allowed in.

A daily cap of 1,000 people has been set at the Memorial for the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC. Only 50 are permitted into the memorial at the same time.

All people entering these museums in Shanghai need to register on suishenma, a real-name digital platform that uses QR codes to record personal health condition information for the museum staff to scan during check-in.

In Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, all city-level museums have resumed operation, setting a daily cap of visitors as"50 percent of their maximum capacity". The provincial-level Nanjing Museum, also one of the largest museums in the country, is scheduled to open on Thursday. It plans to allow 2,500 people to visit in the morning and in the afternoon, respectively. Visitors are suggested to stay in the museum for "no more than 2 hours".

Group visits to the museums are still banned in both cities, so are guided tours by museum staff. However, visitors can enjoy a digital tour by scanning QR codes to access exhibit information.

No Beijing-based museum has, as yet, announced plans to open, including the Palace Museum, which attracted 19 million visits in 2019, the most among Chinese museums.

Nevertheless, what concerns museum operators is the safety of not only humans, but also cultural relics.

For example, in Shanxi province, specific rules are set for custodians of warehouses to avoid touching the artifacts. A group of experts has been organized in the province to evaluate the possible impact of disinfectants on paper-based cultural relics like paintings and calligraphy and may seek to remove them from exhibition halls.