'Golden Week' pops 2.7b tourism income for Shanghai
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-08 16:32 East China's commercial hub
Shanghai welcomed more than four million visitors during the weeklong National
Day vacation - one of three tourism "golden weeks" in China - and earned 2.7
billion yuan (about 337.5 million U.S. dollars) of tourism income.
The income was 9.25 percent higher than the same period last year, said the
municipal vacation office on Saturday.
From Oct. 1 to 7, Shanghai's 86 major scenic spots were visitedby 2.2 million
people, a year-on-year growth of over 30 percent.
The 15 department stores and shopping malls on downtown Huaihai Road reported
a turnover of 51 million yuan (about 6.4 million U.S. dollars), up 15 percent,
while the turnover of the Nanjing Road pedestrian mall reached 366 million yuan
(about 45.8 million U.S. dollars), up 18 percent on a year-on-year basis, the
officialsaid.
Many people drove to the metropolis using the recently-completed expressway
network that links Shanghai with neighboring cities and provinces.
The visitor surge put a lot of pressure on the public transportation system
in Shanghai, said the office.
The Shanghai Railway Administration said more than 700,000 people went
through Shanghai's railway stations on Saturday. They expected railroad
passenger volume to remain around 600,000 for the next two days.
National Day became the first weeklong holiday in 1999 when theState Council,
the Chinese cabinet, promulgated a new regulation to prolong three festivals
into seven-day holidays.
Chinese people who up till then had never been able to enjoy such long
holidays reacted enthusiastically -- figures for this vacation point to 28
million domestic tourists and 14.1 billion yuan (about 1.76 billion U.S.
dollars) of tourism income.
The two other week-long holidays occur during Spring Festival, China's Lunar
New Year, and around Labor Day on May 1.
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