When Christopher Allen visited the Palace Museum for the first time in 2008, he was overwhelmed.

　　克里斯·艾伦在2008年The first次参观故宫时，可谓应接不暇。

　　"It felt like you were hit by hundreds of years of history," he said. "With so much to see, one visit is not enough."

　　“就像是几百年的历史突然呈现在你眼前，令人眼花缭乱，远非一次参观就能对它详细了解的，”他说道。

　　Over the next decade, the Beijing-based English teacher has paid two more visits to the museum and has grown to appreciate its history and culture.

　　后来10年，这位在北京工作的英语老师又去了两次故宫，并逐渐能欣赏蕴含其间的历史文化。

　　The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, is one of the most visited museums in the world and tops the must-see tourist destinations in China.

　　故宫，又叫紫禁城，是世界上最热门的博物馆之一，也是高居中国景点榜首的必打卡之地。

　　With its long history, rich culture and convenient facilities, the complex has attracted numerous overseas tourists to see its halls, palaces and gardens.

　　凭借自身悠久的历史、丰富的文化和便利的设施，这座建筑群吸引了大量海外游客前来参观错落其间的宫殿和花园。

　　Since 2012, the museum has drawn over 100 million visits. In 2018, over 17.5 million people visited the museum, and about 20 percent were foreigners.

　　自2012年以来，它接待游客1亿多人次，在2018年1750多万人次中，海外游客占比约20%。

　　During this year's May Day holiday, the museum received another 320,000 visitors, with many of them coming from outside China.

　　在今年“五一”假期，参观人数达32万人次，其中不少游客就来自海外。

　　Dagmara Bahoria, a 41-year-old from Poland, works as a part-time tour guide for a Polish travel agency and has paid about 50 visits to the Forbidden City.

　　现年41岁的Dagmara Bahoria来自波兰，是当地一家旅行社的兼职导游，他来故宫已50几次。

　　During the holiday, Dagmara came with another group of Polish tourists, introducing to them the architecture, history and anecdotes of the Forbidden City.

　　这个假期，她又带队参观，并向随行的波兰旅客介绍了故宫的建筑、历史和趣闻。

　　Dagmara paid her first visit to the site in 2012. "It was a dream from my childhood to see the Forbidden City, and the feeling of actually seeing it is one of the best," said Dagmara, who became a fan of Chinese culture and the Forbidden City at the age of 12.

　　她The first次到访是在2012年。“参观故宫是我童年的一个梦想，能够参亲眼见到感觉好极了，” 她如是说道。在12岁时，她就成了铁杆中国文化迷。

　　"The name Forbidden City sounds really mysterious. With its history hidden for so many years from outsiders, I feel like I'm time-traveling when I go inside," she said.

　　“紫禁城（故宫）这名字听上去真神秘。多年来，它的历史不为外人所知。当我置身其间，感觉像是场时空穿梭，”她说道。

　　But the Forbidden City is no longer off-limits to outsiders. Instead it is becoming more friendly to foreign visitors, as Dagmara has noticed.

　　现在，紫禁城不再是“禁”地。相反，正如Dagmara所言，它向海外游客正展现出愈加友好的一面。

　　"The audio guide system for rent at the museum even has a Polish language channel, which is rarely seen in other tourist sites in the world," she said.

　　“在它提供的语音导游设备租赁服务中，甚至包含了波兰语，这在全球其它景点很少见，”她说道。

　　Dagmara hopes the Palace Museum can open more areas to the public.

　　她希望故宫能对公众开放更多区域。

　　A target has been set by the museum to open 85 percent of its areas, compared with the current 80 percent, according to former curator Shan Jixiang.

　　按照前馆长单霁翔的说法，故宫计划对公众开放85%区域，目前已实现80%。

　　Only 30 percent of its areas were accessible by the public in 2012, when Dagmara paid her first visit.

　　而在2012年DagmaraThe first次参观时，该比例仅为30%。

　　Christopher was also able to show his family around the Forbidden City when they visited China. He also bought cultural products from souvenir shops at the museum.

　　对克里斯而言，他不仅能领着家人在故宫里四处看看，还能从它的纪念品商店购买文创产品。

　　His favorite product is the Palace Museum Calendar, which he usually brings to his Chinese classes to study the Chinese characters on it with his teacher.

　　他最喜欢是故宫年历。上中文课时，他经常把它带在身边，这样就能让中文老师教他认识上面的汉字了。

　　"With this calendar, it's like I've brought culture and history home," he said.

　　“我带回家的不是挂历，而是它所承载的文化和历史，”他说道。