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Tourists start to return to Wuhan's attractions

Friday, 04 September 2020 8:36 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 September 2020 8:36 AM ]

People use mobile phones on a boat sailing on Yangtze River following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, September 3, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)

Domestic travelers have started returning to attractions in the Chinese city of Wuhan, lured by free entry to tourist sites the provincial government introduced in early August as part of its effort to revive the hard-hit tourism industry.

"I was here last year but it was a very quick tour for about two days. Right now, attractions in Wuhan are free entry for now, so I think it's a good time to tour the city and Wuhan is pretty safe now," said Tang Yuqing, a tourist from southwestern Fujian province, at the Yellow Crane Tower - a famous Wuhan landmark.

At the city's Dacheng road night market, which has been open since August 1, street vendors appealed to the government to bring in more tourists.

"We need help (from the government). If the tourism industry is good, we will have more tourists from other cities. The more people come to the night market, the more sales we can make. We need tourists from other cities to shop here," said Liu Shaochang, a toy vendor at the night market.

The central Chinese city, where the COVID-19 epidemic is believed to have originated, was locked down for more than two months from late January. The city's death toll of 3,869 accounts for more than 80% of China's total.

Wuhan has been steadily returning to normal since April, when the lockdown was lifted, and it has not reported any new local transmissions of the coronavirus since May 18.

(Source: Reuters)

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