Palace Museum dinner food for thought

The Palace Museum canceled its Spring Festival dinner service on Thursday, triggering discussions on social media networks. There were heated online discussions last week, too, when the Palace Museum first announced the dinner plan.

According to the plan, dinner at the Palace Museum restaurant would have cost 6,688 yuan ($970.6) for a table of 10, the menu being preset. Many said the dinner was too expensive given the average monthly income of Beijing residents in the first half of 2019 was only about 5,643 yuan.

Others feared damage to the 600-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site, as the restaurant is on the premises. The debates were so intense that "Spring Festival Eve Dinner" began trending on networking sites.