Chinadaily.com.cn sharing the Olympic spirit
Far from the madding crowd
By Gu Wen (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-02 14:05
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I fled the bright lights of Beijing before the start of the Golden Week
break in May and headed to the coast to relax and unwind.
I chose to go to Weihai, a small and quiet town in Shandong featuring a
long coastline and unspoilt beaches. Part of Weihai's shoreline is known
as "the end of the sky," because it lies on one of the easternmost edges
of the Chinese mainland.
Although the journey was stressful - it involved a 10-hour drive and
several grinding traffic jams - I was glad to escape the huge crowds that
were sure to form in the Chinese capital during each Golden Week.
However, even I was shocked when I watched the news on TV of the
trampling tourist herd in town.
On the second day of the weeklong national holiday, some 114,800 visitors
swarmed the Forbidden City, overloading its capacity several times over.
The Great Wall, Summer Palace, Tian'anmen Square, and Beijing's aquatic
museum and zoo were similarly stretched.
During the period, over 2 million visitors came to Beijing and unloaded
3.8 billion yuan ($493 million) on the city. In addition to this, 2.8
million local residents joined city tours, contributing another 365
million yuan.
As most of the city's Olympic venues will be ready by the end of the
year, and more arts and cultural activities are planned, the tourist
crowds may continue to swell in the coming Golden Weeks and during the
Games next August.
The city has not been shy about wooing visitors with an Olympic sales
pitch. About 100 million domestic and 48 million overseas visitors are
expected to arrive in 2008, up from an estimated 93 million and 4.2
million this year, respectively.
But Beijing's ambition to become a tourist Mecca could well come at a
price, such as "crowding out" some city residents keen to avoid the heavy
levels of congestion.
Besides, the capital has long been known for vacuuming up people,
investment and other resources from the provinces. While many from the
city's neighboring areas regularly travel into the capital, far fewer
Beijngers reciprocate.
As an indication of unattractiveness of these neighbors, the province of
Hebei next door to the city has 2.7 million people living below the
poverty line in 3,798 impoverished villages.
As such, it is necessary for the neighbors to work together to develop
more popular tourist destinations and improve service standards in the
region, which could help the areas around Beijing benefit from the
multiplying effect of the Olympics.
Yet some are already seeing more visitors. Tianjin reported receiving 1
million people during this Golden Week, one third of whom came from
Beijing; Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, welcomed 787,000 visitors,
175,000 of them from Beijing.
Beijing should encourage more excursions to neighboring cities and towns
to help take some of the pressure off the aging and over-strained tourism
infrastructure in the capital. This will also provide absorbing holiday
getaways for people like me who might want to get outside the big city
during peak tourist seasons.
As a matter of fact, i have also had my fair share of disappointment with
those far-flung tourist destinations.
On my way back home from Weihai earlier this month, I stopped by Qingdao,
a better-known summer resort in Shandong that will host the 2008 Olympic
regatta, to take a stroll on the famed Qingdao Pier.
To my horror, the century-old pier, like the city's beaches and main
roads, was filled with tourists. In the distance, its octagonal pavilion,
the silhouette of which can be seen on every label of Tsingtao Beer,
appeared helpless amidst the crowd. Nearby, St. Michael's Cathedral,
another landmark of local architecture, was charging an entry fee of 5
yuan.
I was glad that by the time I returned to Beijing, the Golden Week and
the party were already over.
Email:yuanzhou@chinadaily.com.cn
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