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China kicks off week-long national day celebrations
2006-10-01
Travellers check for tickets from an Air China counter at Beijing's airport in the midst of China's weeklong National Day holiday Oct 6th 2005. Air travel was once so exclusive in China that even government officials needed a special ranking, but today the skies are open to anyone who can afford a ticket, making flying a booming business. |
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China has begun its week-long national day holiday, with rail stations and airports packed and roads gridlocked around Tiananmen Square and at other major tourist sites throughout the nation. The government is expecting more than 330 million people to travel during the week-long holiday marking the 57th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the People's Daily reported. Millions of new Chinese car owners are also expected to jump into their vehicles for short trips to rural scenic spots nationwide, with police eager to raise safety awareness along China's notoriously dangerous roads. "Maintain a high level of alert, ensure good, safe and civilized driving, do not drive while tired, do not overload your vehicles and regularly undergo safety checks of your car," the police ministry said in a National Day public service announcement. However, in southwestern China's Chongqing city Sunday, one of the nation's biggest, 30 people were killed and 20 others injured when a fully packed bus broke through a bridge guard rail and plunged into the Jialing river in the city centre, Xinhua news agency said. Up to 41 million people were expected to travel by rail during the holiday, with the railway bureau adding up to 100 trains linking major cities and coastal areas to meet demand, the China News Service said. Train tickets from Beijing to the coastal cities of Qingdao and Dalian and the tourist cities of Xian and Harbin have been sold out for days, the report said. Rail traffic was also especially heavy in and out of the booming southern city of Guangzhou and the bustling eastern metropolis of Shanghai. Up to 1.16 million passengers were expected to fly in or out of Beijing's Capital Airport during the week, Xinhua news agency said. On Sunday morning, more than 200,000 people gathered to witness the flag raising ceremony on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, which has been decked out with huge floral displays and lights for the national day festivities. Security around the square remained tight with occasional protesters seen pulling out leaflets or banners only to be immediately rounded up by police and escorted off the square. Traffic in downtown Beijing was at a total standstill early Sunday as crowds flocked to the symbolic political heart of the nation. According to the Beijing News, more than 50 main thoroughfares in the capital were jammed up with cars up until 11 pm Saturday night as many of the city's 2.75 million automobiles cruised the streets to welcome the holiday. The win by Germany's Michael Schumacher at the Chinese Grand Prix Sunday at the Shanghai International Circuit also unleashed a massive traffic jam as race fans made their way back into the city, a further sign of China's growing love for the automobile. To make traffic worse, several streets around Shanghai's historic Bund and its busy Nanjing Road were closed to traffic on Sunday as an evening lantern festival was expected to attract tens of thousands of residents. Meanwhile commemorations were being held in cities throughout China, with Hong Kong hosting a massive fireworks display over Victoria Harbour late Sunday. Hong Kong immigration officials expected some 5.67 million people to cross the Hong Kong-Chinese border over the upcoming Golden Week celebrations as families reunite for mid-autumn festivities. Also in Hong Kong, radical Marxist lawmaker Leung Kwok-heung was muscled away from the city's civic centreplace by police Sunday after he heckled political leader Donald Tsang during a Chinese National Day commemoration event. Leung, joined by a handful of supporters, led what is now his customary disruption of the day's symbolic event, which began with the dual raising of the Hong Kong and Chinese flags and ended with a parade of uniformed servicemen and women. Muzi.com News
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