Chinese museums ordered to strengthen emergency protocols following blackouts and incidents of overcrowding

China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration has ordered public museums nationwide to strengthen emergency management protocols after summer holiday power outages and overcrowding incidents. On 4 August, the Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xi’an suffered a blackout and air-conditioning failure around 1pm that lasted several hours, with visitors using flashlights; similar outages hit the Lu Xun Museum in Beijing on 7 August and the Datong Museum in Shanxi on 8 August. Zhejiang Museum apologized after overcrowding and gate malfunctions caused entry delays on 6 August, with museums citing system overload, ageing equipment, and extreme heat. Conservation lecturer Joey Cao of the China Academy of Art warned that sudden outages can endanger relics requiring strict temperature and humidity control, depending on the severity of environmental change. The administration urged real-time visitor monitoring (including camera surveillance), improved booking systems to prevent surges, and better coordination with local governments; the Terracotta Warriors Museum drew nearly 11 million visitors in 2025, ranking second nationally in a government report.

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