Forbidden city to go smoke-free

Beijing's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, announced on Saturday that the museum will go smoke-free.

The museum announced its new regulation on the occasion of the International Museum Day. It says all its staff and people working in the forbidden city are not allowed smoke, regardless of being indoor or outdoor, or open-air or in work zone.

Whoever violates the smoke ban will face punishment, the regulation says.

Also on the day, the museum launched mail services for visitors. At the launch ceremony, the curator Shan Jixiang sent a letter stamped with "Palace Museum" postmark to Fun Ming-chu, the director of Taipei's Palace Museum.