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Managers of the Moller Villa on Shaanxi Road had to call in the police on Saturday to help remove a massive crowd of visitors that stopped by for a free tour of the historic building.

The villa was one of 23 historic buildings in the city that were open for free on Saturday.

Altogether, about 46,000 visitors toured the various buildings, making life difficult for those trying to keep order.

Moller Villa was the most popular attraction, with more than 5,000 visitors stopping by for a free tour.

People began to line up outside the villa at 7:30 in the morning, although it wasn't scheduled to open to visitors before 10am. Managers decided to open up early after a 100-meter-long lineup had formed outside the front gate.

The villa was built by British Business man Eric Moller in the 1930s after his daughter said she wanted a life-size dollhouse. Shortly after its completion in 1936, the Japanese invaded Shanghai and the Mollers were forced to leave the city.

The villa underwent a massive facelift and was turned into a five-star hotel in 2002.

Visitors were shown around the villa in small groups on Saturday, with each group being only allowed to spend about 15 minutes touring around.

Trouble broke out when managers tried to end the tours at 4:30pm as scheduled. Hundreds of people still waiting outside were irritated and burst past security guards for a look at the villa.

Intruders soon packed the small building while the staff appealed for proper order over a loudspeaker.

The crowd didn't disperse, however, until 10 cops arrived on the scene. The last group of visitors finally left at about 5pm. "The crowds show local people have a growing interest in the city's cultural heritage," said Tan Yufeng of the Shanghai Historic Relics Administration Commission.