Summer vacation is approaching, and it is a peak season for the public, especially young audiences, to visit and learn at museums. Should reservations still be required for visiting museums during the summer vacation? The State Administration of Cultural Heritage recently issued a "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Museum Open Service Work during the 2025 Summer Vacation."

The notice requires that all levels of cultural relics administrative departments should strengthen guidance, scientifically assess the carrying capacity of venues, implement reservation mechanisms in accordance with the actual situation, and prohibit a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Museums across the country should conduct reservation work in a practical manner. Venues that can ensure safety and have the conditions for staggered visits and diversion can, in principle, cancel reservation restrictions.

For venues that do require reservations, reservation rules, visitor guidelines, etc., should be published, and the reservation content should be streamlined and the reservation process simplified. At the same time, manual windows and telephone reservation services should be retained to ensure the rights of different groups to visit.

Orderly management within the museum should be ensured, visitor routes should be scientifically planned, and inflow and outflow should be strengthened to optimize the visitor experience environment. Local cultural relics departments should strengthen the standardization and guidance of social interpretation and research and study services, support the establishment of access management and supervision mechanisms in their respective regions, and promote orderly and healthy development.

The notice proposes that all levels of cultural relics administrative departments should strictly fulfill their local responsibilities, strengthen work coordination, strengthen business guidance and inspection, and ensure that all work is carried out safely and orderly. They should work together with public security and cultural tourism departments to continuously carry out special rectification actions against "scalpers" to ensure the basic cultural rights and interests of the public.

According to the notice, museums across the country should proactively plan and launch a batch of high-quality exhibitions and activities with distinct themes, rich connotations, and educational significance to enrich the cultural life of the public during the summer vacation. Nationally key museums, provincial-level large museums, and key industry museums jointly built by the central and local governments should play a leading role, and promote a batch of high-quality exhibitions to small and medium-sized museums through joint exhibitions, touring exhibitions, and loan exhibitions, providing the public with more choices.

Museums across the country should establish and improve mechanisms for collecting, processing, and feeding back audience opinions. For issues such as reservation visits and interpretation services, they should come up with practical measures, implement reforms immediately, and proactively and promptly respond to social concerns. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage will strengthen supervision and guidance, and will seriously hold those accountable who cause major safety accidents or seriously infringe on the rights and interests of the public.