Beijing's Forbidden City is embroiled in another scandal days after artefacts were stolen from the former imperial palace.
The Palace Museum, which manages the five-century-old site, has been accused of renting out one of its best imperial-era halls and turning it into a private, members-only club for billionaires from around the world.
The allegation, which state television anchorman Rui Chenggang posted on a popular micro-blogging site on Wednesday, quickly attracted public attention and news coverage yesterday.
Although museum spokesman Feng Naien issued a denial yesterday, few were convinced. Hundreds of people voiced their outrage in chat rooms and on the Sina Weibo microblog service amid debate over the management on one of the mainland's most important world heritage sites.
Photos purportedly of a business banquet involving Ch?teau Margaux, a wine estate from Bordeaux, France, and website links to ads promoting the hall as an exclusive venue for events were also posted.
The new controversy has dealt another blow to the palace management, already widely blamed for security loopholes in Sunday's burglary - the museum's first in two decades.
