At least 20 security cameras in the Forbidden City have caught the controversial photo shoot of a nude woman, the head of the historic site said on Tuesday, Beijing-based The Mirror reported.
Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, said that the site has installed about 1,500 surveillance cameras and 20 of them had videotaped the incident.
Shan said the footage recorded four young people from the time they purchased tickets, to the time a woman removed her clothes as well as the entire photo shoot, adding that the evidence has been submitted to the authorities for further investigation.
He said the Forbidden City's surveillance monitoring system covers all areas of the grounds. The museum started to upgrade its monitoring system in March 2014 and has so far completed 75 percent of the work.
A series of nude pictures taken in the Forbidden City sparked controversy earlier. The photos showed a nude model riding on a stone tablet head of a hornless dragon.
The pictures were first posted on the Sina Weibo of Wang Dong, the photographer, on May 17. Wang said it is natural to take human body pictures at tourist attractions, news website reported.
Some netizens, however, criticized the photos for tarnishing the solemnity of the museum and challenging public morals and customs.
The Forbidden City had reported to the police and claimed that such behavior should be condemned.
