Among the shows were five performances of Alexandrov Ensemble, the oldest and largest military artistic troupe in Russia, from Feb 6 to 9, and a recital by the classical guitarist Yang Xuefei on Feb 29.

Chen, of Beijing, who had planned to use the holiday to take her 7-year-old granddaughter to the NCPA to enjoy some shows, was disappointed but philosophical about the turn of events.

"Now we have to change our plans, but it's a very difficult time, what with the country battling the coronavirus outbreak. We need to stay home to avoid cross-contamination."

As part of that campaign the Ministry of Education announced that the spring semester would be delayed.

More than 80 NCPA shows and 60 public activities, including workshops, movie screenings and exhibitions, had been canceled, the center said, and from Jan 26 to March 1 nearly 50,000 tickets were expected to be refunded.