The Palace Museum has announced that all entrance tickets are now being sold online, a move     1    （save）visitors from queuing to buy tickets at the gate.

October 2nd was the first day the museum, also known as the Forbidden City, sold all     2    （it） 80, 000 daily tickets online. For visitors     3     have not bought tickets in advance, museum staff will assist them to purchase tickets on their mobile devices     4    scanning a QR code （二维码）.

    5    （base） on current sales data, between 15, 000 to 20, 000 tickets per day are available to be purchased on site using the QR code. That amount is approximately what was     6    （previous） sold through 30 ticket booths in two hours. If visitors are unable to purchase their tickets online, for example the elderly, foreign tourists     7     those without e-payment, staff at the museum can book tickets online on their behalf.

A trial of the online ticketing service began on September 25th, 2011. Last year, around 77 percent of the tickets     8     （book） online. The museum began to limit daily visitors to 80, 000 in June 2015, preventing excessive numbers of tourists during holiday periods.

Since 2012, the museum     9    （receive） at least 15 million visitors each year, with     10     number of visitors hitting 16 million last year.