Tourist sites expect explosive visitor volumes in Beijing
( 2003-10-03 10:20) (Xinhua)
Beijing's Forbidden City, palace to emperors of
the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), has become the most crowded tourist spot in the
capital, with the number of home and overseas visitors up to 92,900 people on
Thursday, the second day of the country's week-long National Day Holiday.
The figure exceeded its maximum capacity by 86 percent, according to the
official statistics.
From 3:00 p.m. Wednesday to 3:00 p.m. Thursday, some 1.2 million tourists had
thronged to Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a popular tourist site for watching the
flag raising ceremony. During the same period, about 38,000 travelers had
climbed up the Tiananmen Gate, on which China's late leader Mao Zedong once
declared the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Beijing's other major sites also expected explosive tourist volumes
outstripping their optimum capacity at the beginning of the holiday. On
Thursday, Beihai Park received 42,500 tourists and the Beijing Zoo took in
69,300 visitors.
The National Day Holiday was officially prolonged to seven days in 1999 to
boost tourism, which has achieved bumper harvests as more people travel across
the country and consumer spending volumes soar.
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