China will offer free entry to its 1,400 museums and memorial sites before the end of next year, a senior official of the country's cultural heritage authority said yesterday.

The announcement comes nearly a month after the Fujian Museum was forced to close after some items were damaged by visitors on a day with free admission.

People can currently visit about 600 museums and memorial sites for free while another 800 will offer free entry next year, Zhang Bai, deputy director of State Administration of Cultural Heritage said.

About 10,000 yuan (US$1,410.4) in damage was caused at Fujian Museum when visitors flocked there when the admission fee was waived last month.

The tails of some animal specimens were pulled out and even the gate of the museum was broken, a Hong Kong-based newspaper reported.

The museum had to close for repairs.

Visitor numbers were expected to increase five to 15 times after admission fees were waived, according to Zhang.

But he said museums and memorial sites could hand out free tickets to limit the number of visitors.

Museums would also have more employees to serve visitors and install more facilities to protect items on exhibit.

The administration has dispatched six research teams to investigate those museums currently offering free admission to prepare the next batch of museums being added to the list, said Zhang.

Four museums and memorial sites in Shanghai including the Shanghai Museum, the Memorial Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Lu Xun Museum and the Former Residence of Chen Yun offer free admission.

The above four venues have taken measures in place to ensure visitors can fully enjoy and appreciate the cultural works on display.

(Shanghai Daily, March 14, 2008)