Chinese tourists out in force as virus fears recede
BEIJING (AFP) – Sipping bubble tea and dressed in their holiday finest, millions of Chinese travelers flocked to domestic tourist attractions over the May 1 long holiday with COVID-19 fears already a distant memory.
Beijing’s historic alleyways were packed with camera-wielding visitors yesterday, while a bride dressed in red tulle took wedding photos with her groom outside the Forbidden City.
Out-of-towners also mobbed popular sites in Shanghai over the weekend, many dragging roller bags and snapping selfies against the city skyline.
In Wuhan, where COVID-19 was first reported in late 2019, thousands of maskless revelers cheered and danced shoulder to shoulder at the outdoor Strawberry Music Festival.
China has largely brought the virus under control with strict lockdowns and border controls since mid-2020, with only 17 cases among quarantined travelers reported in the country yesterday.
The Chinese economy recorded an explosive 18.3 percent increase in GDP in the first quarter, and life in China has largely returned to normal aside from occasional small outbreaks, even as a devastating new wave of infections overwhelms neighboring India.
Limits on flights abroad, and quarantine requirements for anyone entering the country, mean foreign holidays are almost entirely out of the question.
The scenes of merrymaking over the five-day holiday, which ends Wednesday, contrasted starkly with the fear and silence in Chinese cities early last year after millions were told to stay home in the world’s first COVID-19 lockdowns.
Travel booking platform Ctrip said it expected up to 200 million people to make trips across China during the five-day period, with hotel bookings up more than 40 percent from before the pandemic.