China prepares for the solar eclipse

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-22 00:22

TOURISM AND PREPARATION

The Yangtze delta, one of the best venues of watching the eclipse, attracted tens of thousands of watchers from foreign countries or other parts of China.

A group of Australian tourists visit a local telescope-making factory prior to the total solar eclipse observation at Suzhou City in east China's Jiangsu Province, July 20, 2009. [Xinhua]

According to sources with the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, more than 200,000 foreign tourists entered China via the airport from Thursday to Saturday. On Monday alone, more than 40,000 passengers entered China.

Full Coverage:
Total Solar Eclipse

Passenger liner companies launched Solar eclipse tours to bring tourists to the sea to watch the eclipse.

In the southern Guangdong Province, two eclipse-watching tourism lines were opened to astronomy fans. According to local tourism agencies, more than 10,000 people will leave for east and central China to watch it.

The enthusiasm of watchers pushed up prices of equipment for watching the eclipse.

Ji Shisan, 32 and founder of the science club Scientific Squirrel, remembered that when he was young, he brushed ink onto apiece of glass and watched the eclipse with it.

Now glasses used for watching the eclipse have been sold out in many stores.

"It was astonishing," said Yin Jian, a staff with a Tesco Supermarket in Shanghai. "We began to sell the 3.9-yuan glasses since Saturday and by Sunday evening, more than 1,000 were sold."

Unable to buy a pair in the supermarkets, many fans logged online to order the glasses.

On Taobao.com, one of the biggest consumer-to-consumer electronic commerce sites in China, more than 30,000 items valuing1.5 million yuan were sold in a week. Prices of solar-eclipse watching glasses spanned from 2.5 yuan to 165 yuan.

To ensure people's safety on Wednesday when the eclipse occurs, the zoo of Yichang city in central China's Hubei province planned to check the cages in advance so as to prevent the animals being scared by the sudden darkness.

Night mode will be used in the Sanxia Airport, said local sources.

Although Beijing will be able to see a partial eclipse, the city is ready to turn on its 183,000 street lamps if necessary.

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