Shan Jixiang retired from his post as curator of the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, on April 8, according to an announcement from the museum.

During his tenure, Shan made multiple innovative attempts to bring the museum closer to ordinary people.

For instance, the areas opened to the public increased from 52 percent in 2014 to 80 percent by the end of 2018. He also made great efforts to develop creative cultural products for the museum. In 2017, the sales of its extensive creative product lines reached 1.5 billion yuan ($223 million).

Born in 1954, Shan majored in urban planning and graduated from Tsinghua University. Before becoming head of the Palace Museum in 2012, he was director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Shan will be succeeded by Wang Xudong, who was formerly director of the Dunhuang Academy China, a national comprehensive institution responsible for the conservation, management and research on the Mogao Grottoes located at Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province.