"We want to extend the exhibition for as long as possible to ensure people can view it," says Sun Yuanchen, the museum's director of marketing and business development.

About 30,000 early bird tickets were sold before the show was forced to close on March 9, Sun says.

"We offered a refund, but most buyers decided to hold on to their tickets and wait until the epidemic was over."

The museum also adjusted its closing time to 9 pm so as to receive more visitors.

During the hiatus when Yuz was closed like all other cultural facilities in Shanghai, the museum opened an online shop selling merchandise linked to the Nara exhibition.

"We wanted to reach as many people as possible, so we set a limit for each person to buy no more than two items," Sun says. "Even though no merchandise could be shipped during the lockdown in April and May, the sales were beyond our expectations. The buyers are from all over the country."