Foreign students visiting the National Museum of China in
Beijing will enjoy significant savings with the purchase of a new
annual pass, a special offer to mark International Museum Day.
With the pass, students will enjoy unlimited admission to all
temporary exhibitions held in the museum as well as a permanent
exhibition on specially collected treasures, the museum said
yesterday at a press conference.
Discounts will also be offered on students' participation in
museum activities, such as lectures and organized trips, said Li
Wei, secretary-general of the museum's membership club.
"The pass is available exclusively to foreign students in
China," she said. "As the national museum, we feel obligated to do
more to promote Chinese culture and history to foreigners,
especially the young."
Sold at a price of 60 yuan (US$7.5), the pass will enable
students to enjoy about 20 exhibitions this year.
"If students buy tickets for each event, they would have to pay
about 600 yuan (US$75) in total," Li said.
The lectures are mainly on Chinese culture, history and
archaeology, and there are also exhibitions on foreign
cultures.
There are also two trips scheduled to visit ethnic minorities in
Southwest China and archaeological remains in Central China.
"Students with the pass will enjoy discounts on lecture tickets
and travel fees, but we haven't decided how much the discounts will
be," Li said.
Students are encouraged to contact their university's
international office if they want to buy the pass. And Li said they
had informed almost every school in Beijing that has foreign
students. It is also possible to buy the pass from the museum
And to provide better service to foreign visitors, the museum,
which is located on the east side of Tian'anmen Square, said they
welcome foreign volunteers who can work as museum interpreters in
their spare time.
"Volunteers should be able to speak moderate Chinese and a
foreign language," Li said. "Though most of our exhibitions have
English explanations, some visitors still find it difficult to
understand."
Foreign students warmly welcomed the museum's invitation. Sam
Gor, a US student at Beijing Language and Culture University, said
he was very glad that they would have more chances to get a glimpse
of Chinese culture.
"Most international students come to China for its culture and
history," he said. "I will definitely visit the museum."
(China Daily May 18, 2006)
