Photos of tourist destinations during the May 1 holiday in China – the country that has been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic – show both risks and prospects after the epidemic.
Millions of Chinese people started their Labor Day holiday (May 1) today. Many tourist attractions and large restaurants are crowded with people. Some took the opportunity to visit family after a long period of restrictive measures in the country. Photo of tourists at Beijing Daxing Airport on May 1. Photo: Reuters. About 265 million passengers will travel by road, train or boat this week, said an official from China’s Ministry of Transport. This is an impressive number last seen in 2019 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the photo, a group of tourists arrive at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou on April 26, before a five-day holiday. Photo: Bloomberg. Before the holiday season, passengers had gathered at train stations around the country. People lined up in crowded departure halls. The image shows passengers preparing to board a train at Hangzhou East Station, east China’s Zhejiang province on April 30, ahead of the Labor Day holiday. Photo: AFP. People have been looking to famous tourist destinations during the holiday period. Hundreds of people walk daily on the busy road along the top of the Great Wall in Badaling, about 60 kilometers from downtown Beijing. West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province was also packed with tourists on May 1. Photo: AFP. Although China’s economy has bounced back from the Covid-19 recession in 2020, consumer activity has yet to match the recovery pace of industrial production. However, retail sales increased by 34.2% year-on-year in March 2020, painting a more optimistic picture of consumer demand. Passengers wearing face masks are seen arriving at a train station in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters. Important cities such as the capital Beijing, as well as Shanghai and Guangzhou, are expected to be crowded this Labor Day holiday, traffic official Li Huaqiang said. “The number of people will basically return to the level of the same period in 2019,” he added. In the photo, people are walking on the Bund during the holiday on May 1, 2019. Photo: AFP. However, Chinese authorities have issued cautionary notes ahead of the holiday, warning that tourist attractions should limit the number of visitors and have a ticketing system to control the flow of people. Visitors also need to register at the attractions and present a “health code” to prove they are not at risk of infecting others. In the photo, tourists flock to Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Photo: RTHK.
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