When visitors to the Palace Museum feel a need to sit down for a cup of tea or find a bathroom without a long line, they soon will be able to turn to their smart phones for the information they need.
This modern solution comes thanks to an agreement signed on Friday by the museum and Huawei Co. , to build a "smart network" using 5G technology. Under the agreement, 5G Wi-Fi signals will cover the Palace Museum, China's royal palace from 1420 to 1911.
"It's important to always stay close to the latest technology to better serve the public," said Shan Jixiang, former director of the Palace Museum. Shan said there is still much room for improvement in the management of a huge number of cultural relics, such as when the priceless painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is exhibited again in the future. When it was last exhibited in 2015, visitors stood in long lines until 3 a. m. to have a look. The museum ended up preparing fast food to serve the hungry visitors. "I don't want that scenario to happen again", Shan said. "Our operation can be done in a more scientific way."
The new system will also make use of the closed-cameras that are set up all over the Palace Museum to safeguard the museum's valuable relics. More than 1. 86 million of them are housed at the museum, which recorded nearly 20 million visits from the public last year. "How can we make sure no single visitor who might have evil ideas endangers these treasures?" Shan said. "After using the Internet of Things, we can immediately discover any action involving (涉及) the relics to prevent such dangers."
The 5G network also will be used to improve remote (远程的) meeting through web cameras, which will discuss with experts to jointly find the best answers for repair and store problems.
