Huangshan ensures safety as tourism resumes

Tourism at picturesque Huangshan Mountain was back in order on Monday after an emergency plan was put in place to guide the throng of visitors during the Tomb Sweeping holiday, or Qingming.

Tourists visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Anhui province waited to climb the mountain with proper distancing, according to a statement from the mountain management committee on Monday.

Twenty buses were added to transport tourists on Monday, the last day of the Qingming break. More volunteers were in place to aid tourists, check body temperatures and health status, said the statement.

Huangshan Mountain is waiving the 190 yuan ($27) entrance fee for residents of the province to promote tourism. The committee had to issue four notices on Sunday to urge tourists to visit other sites or choose another time because the daily limit of 20,000 visitors had been reached.

Tourists are asked to show their health status on an app, wear masks and check their body temperatures before entering.

Since the resumption of operations, the daily number of visitors remained as low as 400 and climbed to 2,000 in the middle of March, according to the committee.

Starting from the end of March, some provinces and cities have rolled out favorable policies including free entry and discounts to boost tourism.

Huangshan Mountain is among the 31 tourist spots in Huangshan offering free entry to residents in the province from April 1 to 14.

Not far from the city, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province has 55 scenic spots, including the renowned Xixi National Wetland Park.

Xixi is offering free admission with a reservation as long as it keeps visits to under 50 percent of the maximum daily capacity.

The tourism and cultural sectors are among the sectors hurt most by the pandemic, said Deng Wenjun, a travel agency owner in Jinan, capital of Shandong province.

"As the novel coronavirus comes under control in China, more scenic areas across China are opening up," Deng said. "These scenic areas must take virus prevention and control seriously, or it could still be risky."