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Crowds return to quake-hit sites

By Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-20 16:51

Visitors pose for a group photo during a trip to Changhai (Long Sea) in Jiuzhaigou Scenic Park, a valley deep in the mountains of the Aba prefecture, on Dec 20. The number of tourists to the park dropped more than 60 percent last year following the disaster. [China Daily]

"They were wrong. Actually only one of the province's top eight destinations -- the Money King Grotto in eastern Beichuan -- was utterly destroyed," he added.

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With fewer visitors, other world-famous destinations have also felt the cold over the past 12 months.

Meters away from the entrance of Jiuzhaigou Scenic Park, a valley deep in the mountains of the Aba prefecture and a UNESCO world heritage site, Du Yixiong kept his souvenir shop open for the whole of last year, the first time he had ever done so.

"Normally I close the shop in October and reopen after the Spring Festival holidays," said the 36-year-old Aba native, who mainly deals in Tibetan souvenirs. And although the shop is open now, Du said he still could not make up last year's losses. "Possibly only half of it," he added.

Only a few enterprises are still open in the areas around Jiuzhaigou. With the number of tourists dropping by roughly 75 percent last year, most of the local hotels have been closed since the May 12 catastrophe.

Lying in northern Sichuan, the valley reaches a height of more than 4,800 m, comprising a diverse forest ecosystem. Its superb landscapes are particularly interesting for their narrow conic karst landforms and spectacular waterfalls. Some 140 bird species also inhabit the area, as well as a number of rare plant and animal species, including the giant panda and the Sichuan takin.

"We had nearly 650,000 visitors last year. But back in 2007 it was more than 2.5 million," said Wang Qiang, the director of tourism for the area's administrative bureau, who blamed the poor traffic condition for the sharp fall.

Before the quake, most tourists would go there from Chengdu via Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the quake, and Yingxiu town, which was also severely hit. But since the disaster, no tourists from Sichuan have reached Jiuzhaigou.

And although the 90-km-long road from Chengdu to Wenchuan was re-opened in September, travelers must still brave the constant dangers of falling rocks and landslides.

"The park was untouched by the quake," Wang said, noting the scenic park will make more of an effort in getting people to fly there. "Our target this year is to receive more than 1 million tourists, and next year we hope to get back to the pre-quake level."

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