A non-Beijing resident was left feeling dissatisfied by the refusal to grant him a Summer Palace park pass, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

The Summer Palace declined to issue its park pass to the visitor surnamed Chen, who wanted to roam the park with his friends during the May Day holiday.

He said that, although he is not a local resident, he has worked in Beijing for several years. He viewed the park-pass' unavailability to outsiders as a kind of discrimination.

Staff working in the park explained that the strict issuing policy for the park pass has been in place for several years, and is aimed at keeping away illegal vendors. The move was approved by higher government departments.

The newspaper reveals that different parks in Beijing have employed different policies. The park pass to Yuyuantan is available to anyone. Jingshan Park, meanwhile, has already stopped issuing the pass.

Beijing Bureau of Parks and Woods said there has so far been no unified regulation over park passes.