The Palace Museum has announced that all entrance tickets are now being sold online, a move (save) visitors from queuing to buy tickets at the gate.
October 2nd was the first day the museum, also known as the Forbidden City, sold all (it) 80,000 daily tickets online. For visitors have not bought tickets in advance, museum staff will assist them to purchase tickets on their mobile devices scanning a QR code (二维码).
(base) on current sales data, between 15,000 to 20,000 tickets per day are available to be purchased on site using the QR code. That amount is approximately what was (previous) sold through 30 ticket booths in two hours. If visitors are unable to purchase their tickets online, for example the elderly, foreign tourists those without e-payment, staff at the museum can book tickets online on their behalf.
A trial of the online ticketing service began on September 25th, 2011. Last year, around 77 percent of the tickets (book) online. The museum began to limit daily visitors to 80,000 in June 2015，preventing excessive numbers of tourists during holiday periods.
Since 2012，the museum (receive)at least 15 million visitors each year, with number of visitors hitting 16 million last year.
