Chinese tourists start to return to Wuhan’s attractions as city tries to get back on its feet after coronavirus
- Some of the city’s best-known sites such as the Yellow Crane Tower saw larger than normal visitor numbers after entry fees were scrapped
- China has gradually eased restrictions on domestic tourism as it tries to shore up a vital sector of the economy
Tourists are finally returning to Wuhan’s main attractions months after the city became the centre of China’s Covid-19 outbreak.
The authorities said some of the most popular sights had attracted higher than normal numbers of visitors this weekend after entrance fees were scrapped at 400 attractions across Hubei province until the end of the year.
On Saturday more than 12,000 people visited the Yellow Crane Tower, more than three times the normal daily number, according to Changjiang Daily.
On Sunday the site reached its maximum daily capacity of 25,000 people and had to issue a message on social media asking people to stay away.
Mulan Great Lake, a scenic spot in the north of the city, saw a similar increase in numbers. “More than 3,000 tourists came on Saturday, and this was a three-fold increase when compared to the previous weekend,” said Zhu Xi, an officer at the lake.
Other sites in the city including Haichang Ocean Mark, Wuhan Garden Expo Park and Crepe Myrtle Garden also saw a boost in tourist numbers.
“With all the attractions made free of charge, even someone like me who prefers to travel to other provinces could not resist,” said Wuhan resident Xiao Fei in a Weibo post.
The domestic travel sector was worth an estimated 6 trillion yuan (US$857 billion) last year – about 6 per cent of economic output – and thousands of companies have been left teetering on the brink of collapse after struggling for nearly six months due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
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Oversees groups are still banned but travel agencies are once again allowed to operate group tours across China’s provincial borders.
The move highlights the authorities’ confidence that the disease has been brought under control, and the move to open up Wuhan, the worst affected place in China, has a particular symbolic importance.
The city recorded more than 50,000 confirmed cases and nearly 4,000 deaths and endured months of lockdown before it gradually started to open up again.
