Misbehaving tourists can now be banned from the Palace Museum. (Photo : www.blog.airpaz.com)
Iconic tourist locations in major Chinese cities prepare for an influx of visitors during the week-long National Day holiday, also known as Golden Week, by implementing tourist caps and a range of other measures to accommodate tourists.
The holiday week is from Oct. 1 until Oct. 7. More than 532 domestic trips are expected to be made, according to China Tourism Academy.
Beijing's major tourist sites received around 1.15 million tourists on Thursday, the 66th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The Palace Museum received its daily maximum of 80,000 tourists by 1 o'clock in the afternoon on Thursday, at which point it had to stop selling tickets.
The Temple of Heaven had 58,000 visitors, and the Badaling Great Wall had 25,000 tourists, according to authorities.
Tiananmen Square in central Beijing had to install 445 portable toilets before opening on Thursday. The popular tourist site also employed 132 assistants to help visitors find their way.
To assist new tourists, the local government of Shanghai has launched an app on WeChat, a popular instant messaging platform in China, which allows tourists to check the status of attractions, providing information such as opening times, visitor numbers and capacity.
Jiuzhaigou Valley, a tourist attraction in Sichuan Province that has grown accustomed to huge holiday crowds for several years, has announced a daily cap of 41,000 visitors.
"The caps on visitor numbers are mainly intended to ensure tourists have a safe and happy holiday, but overall numbers will not be greatly affected," said Liu Simin, deputy secretary-general of Beijing Tourism Society.
China's rail network will also be under a lot of pressure, expecting over 100 million passengers, according to the China Railway Corp.
The local railway bureau of Nanchang in Jiangxi Province has added 39 trains. The same number of trains has been added by Guangzhou Railway Group Corp. to meet the extra demand.
Many airlines have also increased flight frequency. However, major roads are still expected to experience congestion, as many tourists still prefer to travel by road.
