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Beijing parks to end security check from Sept. 21

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-18 22:41

BEIJING -- Visitors to Beijing's 11 municipal parks won't have to go through security checks anymore after September 20., Beijing Youth Daily quoted the city's park management as saying on Thursday.

The checks were adopted as a temporary security means during the recent Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, the latter of which ended on Wednesday.

The security checks, including security scans and round-the-clock security patrols, started five days after the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on August 8.

Park authorities encouraged visitors to use plastic knives in picnics and banned them from taking in cutlery that had a more than 8 cm edge.

More than 3 million people visited the parks during the Olympics and Paralympics, and earnings were not affected by the extra security, the newspaper quoted park management as saying.

The 11 parks boasted the most renowned tourist attractions in the capital, including Beihai Park, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the Fragrant Hills, among others.

The September 20 date also marks the last day of the city's two-month alternating odd-even license plate system, which took effect on July 20. It was implemented to cut air pollution and traffic jams during the sporting events.