Chen Haixian, an administrator at the Shenzhen Museum, received several complaints from museum staff Friday morning. His coworkers grumbled about the endless stream of people that have been coming to see the recently opened exhibition on Renaissance art.

Within an hour after the museum opened Friday, the first day there were no admission charges since the Italy Benilli Museum Renaissance Art Collection Exhibition opened Oct. 25, over 1,000 people had visited the museum.

"Everybody working at the museum was kept so busy there was hardly time for them to take a sip of water," Chen said.

News spread quickly that over 100 works of art by prestigious Italian artists from the Renaissance had arrived in Shenzhen for a two-month-long exhibition. The exhibits include works by some household names such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Over 700 people visited the museum on the first day of the exhibition, even though it was a weekday. This was the highest figure ever recorded by the museum for the first day of an exhibition.

And the high number of visitors has continued. The museum has registered hundreds of visitors on weekdays, and Chen said the number would significantly climb at the weekend.

Many retired senior citizens visit on weekday mornings and afternoons. Free from any admission charges for senior citizens, some have visited the exhibition again and again.

"It's a rare chance to see so many Renaissance artworks displayed together on our doorstep. I am using this opportunity to find out more about Renaissance art even if it costs me money," said 67-year-old Cai Xizhi, a retired teacher who had spent two mornings in the museum with his wife.

Local office workers used lunchtimes and rest periods to drop by. "I couldn't wait until the weekend. I heard that the sculpture of David by Michelangelo is here, and I wanted to see it in real as soon as possible," said Wang Yi, a twenty something bank clerk. But most people choose to come at weekends with family and friends. "It will give me more time to study them carefully," said Li Feng, an IT manager.

Children and teenagers make up a large proportion of visitors. They usually come with parents or friends and they have so far shown a great deal of interest in the works of art on display.

"I knew about these artists and their works from books and TV, but it's really the first time for me to actually see and touch them. They feel real," 15-year-old Zhang Xueqin said.

The more people visit the museum, the more successful the exhibition is. Chen and his colleagues are more than pleased to see the large number of visitors. But they have their worries as well.

"People are so curious about the 500-year-old works that they want to touch them. To us, that's very worrying because these are works made 400 and 500 years ago. We don't want to see any of them damaged."

To keep the works safe, dozens of museum staff work in shifts and 24-hour security has been arranged. Chen and his colleagues still have a lot of work ahead of them until the exhibition closes Dec. 21.

(Shenzhen Daily November 4, 2004)