Woman sorry for nocturnal Forbidden City livestreaming

A Beijing woman is being investigated for allegedly breaking into the city's prestigious Palace Museum and live streaming her experiences, reports the Beijing Youth Daily.

A screenshot showing a woman livestreaming at night, reportedly in a film and TV studio in Beijing's Huairou District. [File photo: ynet.com]

Users of the Chinese social media site Weibo saw the woman in what appeared to be the Palace Museum at night, prompting many viewers to suggest it was a publicity stunt.

The Palace Museum, popularly known as the Forbidden City, has since confirmed, after checking surveillance camera footage, that the online video was not shot in the museum.

The Forbidden City. [File Photo: Xinhua]

The woman later told reporters that she had livestreamed at the Palace Museum during the daytime on Tuesday, and had promised her fans that she would try to stay overnight without being discovered by security staff, but failed to do so. She then claims she went to a film and TV studio in Beijing's Huairou District and lied to her viewers about her location. She described the whole thing as just a prank, and that she did not intend for the incident to get so much attention as she was not a celebrity.

The broadcast was short lived as the live streaming platform Huajiao soon closed it down after deciding that the content was possibly illegal.

One lawyer in Beijing suggested the woman may have broken social security management laws and could be fined up to 500 yuan and be detained for up to 10 days. He added that if the woman had indeed live streamed from the Palace Museum, she could also face financial penalties according to the regulations of the museum. 

In her latest Weibo post, the woman has acknowledged that her behaviour was wrong and might damage the reputation to the Palace Museum. She added that she sincerely apologized for her actions and was willing to be held responsible for the consequences.