Dinosaur display in Chinese museum ‘used as donations box’
Visitors showering fossilised skeleton with cash to bring good luck, says newspaper, as government tries to improve security at museums in China
A display case housing the fossilised skeleton of a dinosaur is regularly showered with cash by visitors at the Beijing Museum of Natural History looking to bring themselves good luck.
Museum staff said tourists pushed money through cracks in the case for fun or to make a wish, The Beijing News reported.
Most notes range up to 10 yuan (HK$12.50) and hundreds of yuan have been left, the article said.
A three-metre high stone tablet made during the Qing dynasty ((1644-1911) has been subjected to similar treatment in recent years at the Beijing Art Museum, according to the newspaper.
Coins thrown at the tablet have pitted its surface with small holes, the report said.
“We have security guards here, but we cannot make sure every piece is under watch all the time,” a volunteer at the museum was quoted as saying.