Free admission draws visitors to museums

Chinese museums have attracted more visitors since they began to offer free admission in 2008.

"Museums are shifting to serving the people best and want to play a role in the public's cultural life," said Li Xiaojie, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

About 1,800 public museums and memorial halls supervised by the Ministry of Culture have free admission.

The central government has spent more than 8 billion yuan ($1.26 billion) to finance the practice, Li said at a seminar in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which brought together dozens of museum managers.

Ten museums were recognized at the seminar for providing good services to visitors.

China has more than 3,500 museums, and each year about 100 new museums are established in the country, according to the administration.

Since free access was initiated, visitor numbers have increased from 742,000 a year to 1.2 million a year, on average, for each of the major museums, Li said.