This public welfare science popularization education base charges 60 yuan for a ticket alone.
During the Spring Festival, Ms. Chen took her son to visit the Guangdong Science Center located in the University Town. As soon as they entered, they had to pay 60 yuan for the entrance ticket, and it would cost 120 yuan for two people. The content inside the center was indeed worth visiting, but she couldn't help wondering: since it is a public welfare unit for science popularization, its construction and maintenance were funded by "Grandpa's" money, which is actually the money of the taxpayers, why is the ticket so expensive? Tickets for similar science museums abroad are not this expensive, why does the Guangdong Science Center seem like it's scared of being poor?
In response to this, Wang Yang, a standing committee member of the Municipal Committee of the CPPCC and chairman of Xinyu Group, said with deep feeling: "A venue must consider how to raise funds for future maintenance and operation before construction. The Guangdong Science Center should not use market-oriented methods to charge the public after spending taxpayer's money during construction." He believed that since the Guangdong Science Center receives operational funding from the government every year, charging excessively high admission fees is unreasonable.
Wang Yang learned from this year's provincial fiscal budget draft report that the provincial finance allocated 70 million yuan in operating expenses for the Guangdong Science Center this year.
A family of three would spend more than 200 yuan to visit.
During the city's "two sessions," reporters went to the Guangdong Science Center located on Xiaoguwei Island in Panyu District for an on-site investigation. From afar, the Science Center looked like a giant aircraft carrier. This science museum, claimed to be the largest in the world in terms of area, has a total construction area of 137,500 square meters, was invested 1.9 billion yuan by the government, and took four years to build, opening to the public in September last year. Before construction, it was claimed that this would be a non-profit social public welfare science popularization education base.
Many people, upon seeing the positioning of "social public welfare science popularization education base," thought there would be no entrance fee or only a symbolic few yuan charge. However, upon arriving at the entrance and seeing the fee announcement, they were quite surprised.
The center's tickets are divided into two parts, one part is the exhibition hall ticket, and the other part is the cinema ticket. The regular price for the exhibition hall ticket is 60 yuan, with an 80% discount for group purchases; from January to February, the ticket price for full-time college, secondary school, and primary school students is adjusted to 40 yuan, children between 1.1 meters and 1.5 meters tall enjoy a discounted ticket price of 30 yuan, seniors aged 60 to 64 also have a ticket price of 30 yuan. Seniors over 65 years old, children under 1.2 meters, disabled individuals, active-duty military personnel, and honorary veterans enter for free.
In addition to the entrance fee, visitors need to purchase separate tickets for the science center's technology cinemas. The recent ticket price adjustment for the 3D IMAX cinema is 30 yuan, and the spherical digital cinema is adjusted to 25 yuan, etc. For a family of three to visit for a day, it would cost at least 200 yuan, accounting for about one-twentieth of a salaried family's monthly total expenditure, exceeding the payment capability of an ordinary family.
Three parents all complained about the high ticket prices.
Reporters conducted random interviews with three families on-site. Ms. Wang, who brought her 7-year-old son, said, "It's not easy for me to bring my child here from home, it takes three hours. After spending so much time coming here, it's just to let the child experience the atmosphere of science and cultivate scientific thinking methods from a young age. But I still feel that the ticket price is a bit high. A ticket price of 60 yuan per person limits the number of times I can bring my child here. For the two of us, just visiting the exhibition area costs 120 yuan, plus transportation costs, it comes to 150 yuan, which is a bit high. Actually, this place is really nice, I'd like to bring my child here more often, but the ticket is indeed expensive. If it could be reduced, I would consider bringing my child here more often."
Mr. Liu came with his 5-year-old son. He said there are many exhibits here, and the children are very eager for knowledge. They want to try every fun project, often spending 10 to 20 minutes on each project. Each visit cannot cover everything, leaving the child disappointed. Mr. Liu said he had taken his child to the Hong Kong Science Museum, where there are also many exhibits, and the child played happily, with only a ticket price of 23 yuan. In comparison, the ticket price for the Hong Kong Science Museum is much more reasonable.
Ms. Fu came with two children for a visit. "This place is really good, the scientific equipment is very complete, the exhibition halls are grand, and the service staff's attitude is also good, I am very satisfied. With so many exhibits, the children are having fun, isn't this better than taking them to an amusement park? But I still think the ticket price could be even lower." Reporters found in the restaurant of the Science Center that a set meal costs more than 16 yuan, and the small food items sold are generally more expensive than those in outside supermarkets. There are no places to eat or shop around the Science Center, so tourists have to have lunch inside the museum.
Beijing and Hong Kong both charge less than Guangdong.
Some citizens compare domestic science and technology museums with the Guangdong Science Center, finding the latter's ticket prices quite high.
For the permanent exhibition hall of the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing, the adult ticket price is 30 yuan per person, 20 yuan for students, and 15 yuan for minors. Adult groups pay 20 yuan per person, student groups pay 15 yuan per person. The dome theater charges 30 yuan per adult, 15 yuan per student, 25 yuan per adult group, and 12.5 yuan per student group. Seniors over 70 years old enjoy a 50% discount. If you buy a combined ticket for Hall A and B, the adult ticket is 50 yuan per person, and the student ticket is 30 yuan per person. For the Children's Science Paradise, the child ticket is 20 yuan per person, the group ticket is 15 yuan per person, and accompanying adults pay 10 yuan per person.
Let's take a look at Hong Kong, where the consumption capacity and price index are generally higher than in mainland China: the exhibition hall ticket for the Hong Kong Science Museum is only 23 yuan, with group purchase discounts as low as 16 yuan, and student tickets are more than 10 yuan. A family of four can jointly purchase an annual pass for only 180 RMB, allowing unlimited visits to the Hong Kong Science Museum, Hong Kong Space Museum, Hong Kong Art Museum, Hong Kong History Museum, Hong Kong Maritime Defense Museum, Hong Kong Culture Museum, and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall within a year. In other words, our family's consumption at the Guangdong Science Center could buy an annual card in Hong Kong, allowing visits to multiple exhibition halls.
This naturally raises the question: why do large-scale public welfare science popularization education bases funded by the government differ so much in their charges?
Reason: Insufficient funds to maintain operations
Relevant personnel from the Guangdong Science Center once explained to reporters: The ticket price of the Guangdong Science Center was calculated and reported to the provincial government for approval before setting it. Every year, the Science Center needs to eliminate some outdated exhibits, along with the operation, maintenance, and wear and tear of equipment, as well as daily expenses such as energy consumption, requiring at least over 100