|
Sunny weather blesses holiday travellers
By Qin Jize (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-10-01 00:56
The weather has been more than small talk recently as people look forward to
the National Day holiday, which begins Friday and will see millions of people
travel around the country.
Luck falls on the country's capital as clear skies are expected to prevail
over much of the holidays, according to forecasts from the Beijing
Meteorological Bureau.
However, the temperature will drop dramatically and experts with the Beijing
Meteorological Bureau suggest that residents and tourists wrap up to keep warm.
Affected by a strong cold front, the eastern region of Northwest China, North
China and Northeast China will experience windy and chilly weather Friday
and Saturday.
Meteorological experts advise ship passengers to be alert for strong winds
blowing along the eastern and southern coasts as well as the Yangtze River.
"Most regions of the country are expected to embrace sunny weather, which is
perfect for travelling," said Bi Baogui, a weather forecaster with China Central
Meteorological Observatory.
He said Southwest China would see periodic drizzle during the holiday.
The nice weather is good news for travellers and transportation authorities
around the country are bracing for an expected surge in traffic.
The Ministry of Communication predicts that some 30 million passengers will
board buses and coaches starting Monday through to October 7.
Local bus stations have increased the number of routes and extended working
hours to ensure smooth travelling.
Meanwhile, Beijing has added more buses to cope with the crush of people
heading to the Great Wall and other popular sightseeing destinations.
Chinese travellers will make 37.7 million journeys by train during the
week-long holiday, 3 per cent more than the same period last year, said the
Chinese Ministry of Railways.
The ministry plans to add 100 special tourist trains during the holiday to
ease transport pressure.
All local railway departments have been ordered to prepare emergency plans
for the travel "golden week."
The ministry estimated that more than four million passengers travelled by
train Thursday and train tickets were sold out on major inter-city travel routes
Friday.
Tickets for trains leaving the capital to major cities, including Shanghai
and Changsha Thursday and Friday also sold out as thousands of travellers
began leaving Beijing ahead of the holiday.
China's civil aviation authority estimates that up to 2.5 million passengers
will travel by air, a 15 per cent growth over the same period last year.
Civil air administrations have approved over 2,000 extra flights during the
holiday period, most of which will be added to help deal with the surge of
passengers in tourist areas and large cities.
"There weren't any discount air tickets to almost anywhere for Thursday and
Friday," said Xiao Chen, who sells tickets at SINOPEC International Travel
Service Co Ltd in Beijing.
According to Chen, Thursday and Friday are peak days with another spike
expected from October 5 to 7, when people begin to return for work.
Discount air ticket are available for the middle of the week-long holiday if
passengers book immediately.
Air travel has spiked ahead of the holiday. Online booking is up, easing
congestion at airports.
The State Administration of Work Safety has issued a notice on work safety
ahead of the week-long National Day holiday, urging greater transport safety
with millions of people expecting to travel.
Although travelling seems to be the hot topic of the holidays, the majority
of Shanghai's residents would rather rest at home than take a trip, reported the
Shanghai Daily.
According to a survey conducted by Horizon Research among 437 local residents
aged between 18 and 75, nearly 40 per cent of the respondents said they would
stay at home and get some rest during the holiday period, watching TV and DVDs
alone or chatting with family members.
Making use of the long vacation to visit relatives within the city or gather
together with friends were also popular choices, the survey
said.
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Today's
Top News |
|
|
|
Top China
News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
