New head appointed for China's Palace Museum

Beijing's Palace Museum, better known as the Forbidden City, has announced its new head on its official website following a series of scandals last year. Shan Jixiang, 57, former director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH), has become the director of the palace-turned museum, succeeding former director Zheng Xinmiao, who held the post from 2002 and will reach the official retirement age of 65 in October this year. Shan has rich experience and expertise in city planning and relic protection, according to a resume posted on the museum's website. He served as head of Beijing's city planning from 2000 to 2002, during which time Shan created a plan to protect the city's historic areas. Located at the center of Beijing, the museum was an imperial palace for about 500 years, during which time it served as the home of emperors and the political center of China. Museum administrators came under fire in May 2011, when several on-loan exhibition pieces were stolen. This was followed by an August report that said a researcher had accidentally damaged a 1,000-year-old porcelain dish belonging to the museum. In the same month, an online whistleblower revealed that four major accidents involving the museum's artifacts had been covered up by museum administrators.