What pandemic? Crowds flock to the Great Wall of China during the holiday week

Photos of a tourist attraction in Beijing last weekend show a huge crowd along the closing wall, pressing together in close spaces, slamming into each other through narrow doors. Most people wear face masks – but most people, including small children, pull their masks towards their chin, while others seem to have full masks.

Due to its proximity to local broadcasts, people flocked to bus stations, airports and transit stations to travel across the country for the holiday, which began on October 1st. Local authorities competed to attract tourists, with regional and municipal governments issuing travel vouchers and tourists. Attractions that offer free or discounted tickets.

Within these limits is the social distance by keeping a distance of one meter (approximately 3.3 feet) from each other. “Collecting together is strictly prohibited,” the notice said. Previous guidelines on the Great Wall website reminded tourists to wear face masks throughout their visit and to “adhere to the guidance and management of museum staff”.

None of these restrictions were closely enforced this week as bare-faced tourists crowded the wall.

Tickets for the Great Wall’s boarding section were sold out during the Golden Week holiday.

Kevin Fryer / Getty Images

When the department reopened in March, the new restrictions kept the number of daily visitors at 30% of its normal capacity. Prior to the Golden Week celebrations, officials increased the cap to 75% of normal capacity, a daily limit of 48,750.

The Golden Week holiday – the longest in China in addition to the lunar New Year holiday – has traditionally seen a large number of middle-class Chinese traveling abroad. This year, visa restrictions, quarantine requirements, a shortage of international flights and the continuing Kovid-19 accident mean that Chinese travelers are looking for travel domestically.

In the first four days of the holiday, there were 425 million domestic tourism trips to China – generating more than $ 45 billion in tourism revenue, according to figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Violation of relaxed sanctions and social distance regulations this week is the complete opposite of the concern that overshadowed China’s last major travel period – the lunar New Year’s holiday in late January, with the outbreak of coronavirus by Wuhan.

On January 23, two days before Lunar New Year’s Day, the Chinese government locked Wuhan – but by then, the virus had already spread across the country and beyond, as hundreds of millions of Chinese people traveled for the holiday.

As more information about the virus emerged, Chinese transport centers were evacuated; Those still traveling are usually adorned with full protective gear such as plastic gloves, ponchos, helmets, face coverings and goggles.

The sense of imminent danger has now largely waned, with 29-year-old Chen Qianmi, from the southern city of Guangzhou, heading to Shanghai last week for a vacation.

“I think China (the virus) is under very good control,” she told CNN. “I wear masks and bring alcohol wipes to clean my hands, especially before eating – in Shanghai, some people now wear masks.”

CNN’s Nectar Gun contributed to the report.