Palace Museum apologizes for dereliction of duty on car-driving ban violation
A picture posted by a social media user named “Lou Xiaobao LL” on Sina Weibo (now deleted) shows two women posing in front of an off-road vehicle parked in the corner of the square in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony (Taihemen).
The Palace Museum apologized late on Friday on its official Weibo account for its oversight in allowing a car inside the Forbidden City.
The incident came to light after a woman posted four pictures, posing along with another woman, in front of an off-road vehicle parked in the corner of the square in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony (Taihemen).
The pictures by a social media user named “Lou Xiaobao LL” on Sina Weibo were shot on Monday, the museum’s scheduled closure day.
It triggered intense outrage among Chinese netizens.
The apology did not gain forgiveness from angry netizens. Some questioned how the ladies were able to enter the closed museum, what driving route did they take, who let them in, and what penalty the responsible person should take.
Others were concerned about the condition of the old floor tiles which likely were compressed by the heavy vehicle. Internet users recalled that museum workers filmed in the documentary “Masters in the Forbidden City” said they rode bicycles to work to avoid crushing the tiles that were designed for walking.
Management targeted
Some netizens demanded further investigations into the incident and punishment while others expressed disappointment at the museum management for failing to protect the world cultural heritage site.
Cars were banned in the Palace Museum in 2013 during Shan Jixiang’s tenure as curator of the Palace Museum. He argued that it was a matter of cultural dignity as cars were not allowed also in the Buckingham Palace and the Versailles Palace.
On April 26, 2013, when the then French President Francois Hollande visited the Forbidden City with his girlfriend, their motorcade was stopped from entering the Meridian Gate, the entrance of the Forbidden City. He walked to the museum.
This year marks the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City, and the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum.
The Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors between the years 1420 and 1912. Covering an area of 720,000 square meters, it is the largest existing palace-type building in the world.
