bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Josephine Ma

The few mainland tourists who showed up in Lhasa  on the Labour Day holiday yesterday found themselves in a city still struggling to find its feet more than a month after the violent riots that shocked the world.
Yesterday was officially the first day for the riot-battered city, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region , to receive tourists, although tour operators said the city had  reopened to visitors  on April 23.
Foreigners still cannot obtain entry permits to the affected areas and tourism authorities have suggested that travel agencies postpone organising tour groups, citing safety concerns and the need for reconstruction of damaged tourism facilities.
Tibet tourism officials said foreigners would be admitted soon after May 1 but gave no date, according to a Xinhua report.
Most shops along Beijing Zhonglu Road and Beijing Donglu Road - which were hardest hit by riots - were open and many residents were shopping. But few tourists could be seen.
A taxi driver who specialises in the city-to-airport run said he had picked up no tourists from the airport since March 14, the day the violence reached its peak.
'I am considering leaving Lhasa if business does not pick up in May,' said the 23-year-old Sichuan province  native. 'I am losing money every day. I have been driving here for four years. If not for the riots, it would be the best year for us, but now it's the worst.'
A tour operator touting for clients outside the Potala Palace said tourists were so rare that agencies in Lhasa were combining all their tourists into one group for excursions to nearby destinations such as Namtso Lake.
A hotel operator said although the government had reopened the city,  most tourist would not be allowed into Tibet until the Olympic torch relay was over.
The road leading to Mount Everest has been sealed off while officially sanctioned reporters and technicians prepare to cover a mainland bid to carry  the torch to the summit.
Scars left in Lhasa by the unrest and the police response were still visible.
The ground floor of the Xinhua News Agency building was burned out during the riot, but business has returned to the blackened building. Garment vendors have rented the space  and the same was true of several burned shops just a few blocks away.
The Yishion  store, where five girls were killed in a fire during the riots, is under renovation, while a saleswoman in a boutique next door said business was increasing.
However, local residents said most monasteries were still closed to tourists and most restaurants in the old quarter - where riots first broke out - remain closed.
Barkhor Street was closed to tourists, and taking pictures of the square and the security posts guarding the square was not allowed.
But unarmed guards were not wearing helmets and shields as they did a month ago.
A souvenir vendor  near Barkhor Street said Jokhang Temple had not yet reopened to tourists.
A police presence - although not as heavy as a month ago  - was still evident,  with  numerous patrol cars cruising main streets.
The city has been largely shut to outsiders since protests swept through monasteries on March 10 and later turned to violent riots. Neighbouring Tibetan-populated provinces - such as Sichuan, Qinghai  and Gansu , where there have been numerous reported riots - have also been closed to foreign tourists.
A 15-member mainland tour group from the eastern city of Hangzhou , Zhejiang , last Thursday was the first to enter Lhasa since the riots. Thirty-two tourists from Dunhuang , Gansu, who arrived at 8pm on Wednesday, were the first group of tourists to arrive for the Labour Day holiday.  They were welcomed by a team  of Lhasa government officials offering souvenir gifts, according to the Tibet Daily.
Lhasa officials said they hoped the tourists would spread  the word that life in Lhasa had returned to normal and it was safe for tourists.
Tibet received 4 million domestic and overseas tourists last year, up 60 per cent from 2006. Tourism revenue reached 4.8 billion yuan (HK$5.36 billion), accounting for more than 14 per cent of the region's gross domestic product.



Panchen Lama to make rare visit to Nepal after Tibet trip, reports say

Canada sanctions 8 Chinese officials, citing human rights violations

Xi Jinping calls for wider use of Mandarin in China’s border areas amid security push

Antony Blinken urges G7 countries to maintain unity in face of China risks

Tibet

All quiet on the tourism front as Lhasa struggles to find its feet after violence