Tourists visit the Palace Museum after a snowfall in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 30, 2019. Beijing saw a snowfall Friday night. (Xinhua/Wang Jin)

The Palace Museum in Beijing came under fire again on Tuesday despite an apology for allowing two women to drive their vehicle into a courtyard, which sparked questions from netizens on how the women entered.  

The photo of a vehicle parked inside the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, went viral on Friday, stoking controversy as private cars are prohibited inside the historic landmark to better preserve the cultural heritage site. The photo was uploaded on China's Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo by Gao Lu, who has been identified as Weibo user "LuxiaobaoLL."

In response to public outrage, the Palace Museum published an apology by its head Wang Xudong on early Tuesday morning on Weibo. The announcement said the museum's deputy director and security chief have been suspended. 

Wang's apology said more than 200 people were participating in an activity on January 13, a day the palace was normally closed. The designated parking lot was full, so they allowed the vehicle to park inside the palace on its main square, which was not part of the approved plan. 

Wang said the area has always served as a parking lot during special events. 

The apology has apparently failed to quell public anger, and has set off more debates over the privileges enjoyed by the rich.

It disappointed some netizens. "I love the Palace Museum. I have been there many times and have bought cultural products of the Palace Museum. But now I'm disappointed with the Palace Museum," one netizen said.

Some questioned the palace for avoiding any mention of Gao's treatment or punishment, saying preferential treatment is given only to those who have the right connections and wealth. It's not known if Gao was punished, or what punishment she might face. 

Reports said Gao is married to He Gang, the grandson of Chinese revolutionary hero He Changgong, who joined the Party in 1922, a year after it was established.

Liu Zheng, a member of the China Cultural Relics Academy, told the Global Times on Tuesday that heavy vehicles could damage the museum's floor tiles.

But the museum does not have the right to punish visitors after they leave. Vehicle prohibition is only a museum regulation, so no related authorities or organizations could punish Gao, Liu said.

Some netizens called Wang's apology a "cop out" for suggesting that vehicles were not prohibited from parking inside the palace grounds.

However, the explanation contradicted previous statements of former Palace Museum director Shan Jixiang. Shan vowed in 2015 that no vehicle would be allowed to park inside the palace, which should be realized in five years as efforts aimed at protecting cultural relics were increased.

Shan said the same regulation was also applied at Buckingham Palace in the UK and the Palace of Versailles in France.

Wang noted in the apology that the incident reflected management loopholes, and held senior executives accountable.

Multiple organizations are sharing the management of the Forbidden City, which caused management chaos, Liu said. He noted that the Palace Museum is responsible for access from the Gate of Donghua, while the First Historical Archive of China is responsible for the Gate of Xihua where Gao drove into the palace.

Visitors are allowed to drive through the gate of Xihua to visit The First Historical Archives of China, and it's likely that some visitors drove further into the Palace Museum through the historical archives, Liu said. 

Liu called on the archives and the Palace Museum to strengthen coordination in managing access while noting that the historical archives will be relocated this year, after which the relics damage caused by the poor coordination between the museum and the historical archives would decline.


Newspaper headline: Palace Museum apologizes