[Report] COVID-19 Not Over Yet... 20,000 Visitors Crowd Huangshan During China's Holiday Trip

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] "Do not gather in groups of two or more. Take down your tents and move along quickly. You must not forget that this is a COVID-19 prevention period."

As China celebrated the Qingming Festival holiday from April 4 to 6, the Beijing Olympic Park was crowded with mask-wearing visitors on the afternoon of the 5th. Aside from wearing masks, the scene was not much different from a typical spring outing season. Many people who visited the park with family, relatives, and friends were carrying bags full of food in both hands.

On the grassy flat areas, mats were spread out here and there, and many people were seen setting up tents and outdoor tables to fully enjoy the spring atmosphere. Just a month ago, most visitors to the park were small groups of one or two people trying to relieve the frustration of staying indoors or meet someone for a conversation. However, during the Qingming Festival holiday, the groups visiting the park had grown larger, often consisting of teams of five to six people.

The busiest people were the security guards.

Since new COVID-19 cases are still being reported in China and prevention activities have not ended, security guards were busy all day trying to control the crowds of visitors gathering at once. When a park security guard raised a loudspeaker and shouted at groups of two or more, "Disperse quickly. This is a COVID-19 prevention period," people only pretended to disperse, but as soon as the guard disappeared, they spread out their mats again and laid out food. Many people took off their masks to enjoy outdoor activities due to the warm spring weather. Instead of music, the park speakers repeatedly broadcast messages such as "Please wear a mask. Do not gather in groups. Everyone, please participate in COVID-19 prevention activities."

A Beijing resident who visited the park explained, "It is true that the fear of COVID-19 within China has diminished compared to the past. Many places, including parks, do not block entry as long as your body temperature is normal, and even Chinese President Xi Jinping, who appeared in the news, does not wear a mask outdoors and encourages normalization of daily life, which is why so many people are gathering like this."

Huangshan in Anhui Province, famous as a tourist destination, saw a sudden influx of 20,000 people.

As part of control measures due to the COVID-19 situation, Anhui Province limits the daily number of visitors to Huangshan to 20,000, but by 8 a.m. on the 5th, the number of visitors had already reached 20,000. On that day, tens of thousands of tourists lined up from 4 a.m. to enter Huangshan, and by 6:30 a.m., even the parking lot area was packed with people. The day before, the first day of the Qingming Festival holiday, the quota was filled early as well. Despite the COVID-19 prevention period, Anhui Province opened 31 nearby tourist sites free of charge to residents, which caused a large crowd of tourists to gather all at once.

Photos showing people wearing masks packed tightly together and unable to move have been repeatedly posted on social media platforms like Weibo. One tourist posted a photo taken at Huangshan on the 4th, writing, "From 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the 4th, I couldn’t move even 1 km for two hours."

Although the Chinese government recommends online memorial services, home-based remembrance, proxy grave visits, and other ways to avoid visiting graves directly during the Qingming Festival as part of social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many people are enjoying spring outings amid relaxed management on the other hand.

Meanwhile, on the morning of the 4th, a nationwide memorial ceremony was held to mourn victims who died from COVID-19.

At Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, flags were flown at half-mast, and in Wuhan, Hubei Province, which suffered the most damage, a half-mast flag ceremony and a moment of silence were held.

During the three minutes of the memorial ceremony, vehicles, trains, subways, and ships in operation sounded their horns to express condolences. Many people passing through the streets stopped walking and joined the moment of silence to mourn the victims as the horns sounded simultaneously for three minutes.

Online shopping malls and various media outlets changed their homepages to black and white to honor the souls of the victims.