Taking the safe scenic route

Miao Xiangliu, director of the service management department at the Beijing Administration Center of Parks, said that the center has required 10 parks, like Jingshan Park and the Summer Palace that are under its management, to allow for ticket reservations and online bookings to be made one to seven days in advance.

"Online bookings can avoid crowds lining up at park entrances for tickets and reduce risks of the virus spread," Miao said. "All the parks of our center will not allow visitor numbers surpassing 30 percent of their daily capacities."

According to Miao, the parks were nearly fully booked every weekend and the center came up with various ways to prevent people from getting into crowds.

"We designed one-way tours around those parks so that it will be difficult for people to walk pass each other," he said. "We have also guided the parks to arrange staff members at scenic spots based on their topographies and degrees of popularity to ensure people keep a safe distance from one another while they are on their tours."

Cameras are also installed around the parks and workers at the command centers monitor people movement and give advice online.

"In this way, tourists can have both a safe environment and a comfortable experience completely different from before the outbreak," Miao said. "Meanwhile, we will keep to our defense against the virus and will be on our guard until the end of the outbreak."