What's the buzz

With the Super Golden Week round the corner, many tourist sites are increasing their ticket prices again. A survey shows that tickets to tourist spots have become the most expensive part of domestic travel. China Daily's mobile phone news readers, who have visited such sites share their views:

We visited many tourist sites in and around Beijing this month. The tickets to most of these sites, except for the Ming Tombs, are expensive. The Ding Ling Tomb costs each person 65 yuan ($10). And what did we see there? An empty underground burial chamber and two small exhibition rooms. People who don't have much interest in Ming Dynasty history are not likely to enjoy a visit to the tomb. Besides, the trip is not worth the cost compared with the Summer Palace that costs only 30 yuan.

TIANLAN, Guangzhou, Guangdong province

I have visited many tourist attractions with or near temples, where people normally go to pray. But since today's temples have become highly commercialized, monks always persuade tourists to buy incense sticks saying that burning them is auspicious for one's family. Nothing wrong with that, except that the incense sticks can cost up to 100 yuan ($16). Tourists need to be careful not to fall into such traps.

LILI, Huanggang, Hubei province

I visited the scenic spot at the Helan Mountain, which seemed very attractive from a distant. But a closer look revealed that all the scenic spots were artificial, that is, man-made. Besides, I could not hike up to the top of the mountain because no proper paths have been laid or paved. There was no water in the brook and no wildlife around . The driver of the bus we traveled in didn't seem concerned about passengers' safety at all and we were frightened during the entire trip. It cost me 80 yuan ($13) to visit the site and the bus fare was 120 yuan. The site is certainly not worth spending 200 yuan on.

A READER, Shangluo, Shaanxi province

I visited the Lushan Mountain with my friends during the last May Day holiday. It was beautiful. But there was a big problem: The ticket costs 180 yuan ($28), and students get only a discount of 25 percent. Besides, the bus fare for sightseeing is 80 yuan with no discount. After entering the site, we found that the ticket covered only a couple of scenic spots, and we would have to pay 600 to 700 yuan if we wanted to visit all the interesting spots on Lushan Mountain. How many people can afford to pay that much?

A READER, Kunming, Yunnan province

I have visited many tourist sites in Xiamen, Fujian province, including the ocean park in Gulangyu and the Haicang wildlife zoo, but none of them is worth a visit considering the high prices of tickets. The facilities at the sites are poorly maintained and the number of animals in the zoo is few. Since one ticket costs 80 to 90 yuan ($12-14), a family or group would end up paying hundreds of yuan for a site that is definitely not worth a visit. In contrast, some free attractions such as the wetland park are closer to nature and more relaxing .

JUNE, Weifang, Shandong province

Perhaps the worst tourist attraction in the country is Zhouzhuang town in Zhejiang province. Its costs 200 yuan ($32) for a person just to enter the city. But in the ancient town, there is nothing ancient as its name suggests. The place is full of shops selling modern apparels, photo studios, restaurants and former residences of some celebrities such as Shen Wansan. Also, one has to pay extra to take the ferry.

XIAOJIUJIU, Chongqing

(China Daily 09/24/2012 page9)