Ticketing goes online at science and natural history museums

Starting from Tuesday, all tickets to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum and its branch Shanghai Natural History Museum will be sold online, with the general ticket windows scrapped, the former museum announced on Monday.

With their identity card information, visitors can buy tickets on the two museums' official websites and WeChat public accounts. Tickets to the science and technology museum are also available on some third-party platforms, such as online travel agencies Ctrip and Lvmama.

According to the science and technology museum, the new approach will enable visitors to spend less time in queuing up to buy tickets and ensure a more comfortable and safer environment during the visit.

However, for those who cannot buy online tickets for special reasons, there will still be a window left for them to buy tickets at the site. Foreigners who want to visit the science and technology museum can buy tickets at this special window.

The online ticket sales system of the natural history museum will allow foreigners to buy tickets by giving their passport information. 

People who buy online tickets to the science and technology museum can enter with their identity cards, while the natural history museum visitors have to scan a QR code they receive on their phone after the purchase.

The movie tickets for cinemas inside the two museums will also be sold online and visitors can get the paper versions from the self-service ticket machines in the museums.

The bookings for the museums and movies should be made seven days in advance. If someone wants to return their tickets online, he or she can apply for a refund before a certain time.

The two venues are hugely popular. Last year, the science and technology museum received more than 4.4 million visitors and the natural history museum received over 2.4 million, adding up to 6.9 million, an increase of nearly 7.5 percent from 2017.