With several wax figures at the Shanghai Urban History Exhibition Hall being damaged by "impolite visitors," more security guards are to be assigned at the hall to ensure the exhibits are safe.

Parts of the hall where the damaged exhibits were on display have been closed for maintenance, and the entire hall will be open to the public during the weeklong National Day Holiday in October.

"We have put up 'do not touch' signs beside our exhibits, but some visitors are just blind to that," said Xia Xiaoyu of the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower Co, the hall's operator.

"So, the fragile parts of some figures such as 'the beard' and 'fingers' were very easily broken by visitors," he said.

Only two security guards were posted in the hall so visitors would not feel inhibited by too many guards.

"In the future, more guards will be arranged and some exhibits will be fenced off," Xia said.

Officials estimate that the cost of repairs will be huge since each of the wax figures costs around 80,000 yuan (US$9,640).

Opened two years ago, the hall, built at a cost of 60 million yuan, is located inside the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower, a major tourist attraction, and displays more than 150 scenes of local history, 60 wax figures and 100 antique pieces.

They include a 150-year-old 50-meter-long stone street and a 120-square-meter model of Nanjing Road in the 1920s.

(Eastday.com August 28, 2003)