The Palace Museum is one of Beijing's most popular tourist and educational sites. And now, Chinese primary and middle school students can get in for free. Since the good news was announced, students have been flocking to the historic museum.

It's still early, but more than 200 children from a vocational school have arrived at the Palace Museum. The cold weather doesn't dampen their enthusiasm. Many have never been to a museum as grand as this before. The museum's staff has arranged activities to give students some special insight into the museum. A group of veteran tour guides explain culture and history to the children.

Deputy Curator of Palace Museum Li Ji said, “Many kids just learn about the Palace Museum in textbooks, and have never been there themselves. As a staff member here, I feel responsible to explore more opportunities for them to make a personal connection with the great culture heritage."

As one of China's most popular tourist attractions, the Palace Museum is almost full during peak seasons. Since opening its doors to students for free, more than one thousand students have visited the museum. And schools have booked tours months in advance.

(CCTV.com March 19, 2004)