Cool spots offer discounts while tunnels can also help in the heat
Print Edition
AS temperatures soar, people are finding new ways to beat the heat and turn a profit.
The southwest province of Guizhou, for example, is offering discounts tickets for tourism sites, airline tickets and highway passes to attract visitors to its cool mountainous areas. The province is also providing subsidies for planes for group tours.
For Liang Chaojun, the government incentives mean more customers at his family inn in Jiuba Township on a 1,200-meter mountain in Guizhou’s Zunyi next to Chongqing, one of China’s “four ovens” — cities known for their steamy summer temperatures.
The township boasts 30 tourist sites, 1,383 family inns and 78 hotels, serving about 100,000 tourists from Chongqing each year.
“In Guizhou, tourists can enjoy the amazing Huangguoshu Waterfalls or stand in the shade of bamboo forests,” said Wang Wenxue, a local tourism official.
According to a joint report from the China Tourism Academy and the public service center under the China Meteorological Administration, more than 300 million tourists in China take tours to escape the heat each summer. To meet demand, the China National Tourism Administration issued a circular in June seeking tours and travel destinations for summer tours.
“Now we can just stay at home to make money instead of going to big cities to find jobs,” Liang said.
In Dujiangyan in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, about 10,000 tourists headed for a national reserve at the weekend to play mahjong on the water, according to Shanghai Dragon TV.
Next to a river at the Hongkou tourist site, colorful beach umbrellas stood in shallow water. Visitors sat on chairs with their feet in the cool flowing water.
“The water is cool, and the flowing currents make my feet feel very good,” said a visitor playing mahjong.
For residents in central China’s Henan Province, one place is particularly good for seeking shelter from the sun — air-defense tunnels.
The provincial government has opened 153 air-defense tunnels to the public for free, providing desks, chairs, water, tea, newspapers, medicine and even Wi-Fi. The tunnels are mostly located near big shopping malls or busy subway stations.
Air-defense tunnels were built to shelter people, store materials and treat patients in the event of war. The Henan government has been opening the tunnels to the public since 2010. This year, it pumped in 1.9 million yuan (US$280,900) to support safety checks, facility upgrades and decoration.
In the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, 21 such tunnels have opened to the public.
“I think it’s good,” said a resident surnamed Fan, who was teaching his child how to play chess. “It’s safe and clean here.”
Temperatures in Zhengzhou are forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius this week.
Fan said he brought his child to the tunnel because there were many other children taking advantage of the cooler temperatures.
“We don’t want to go outside,” Fan said. “It’s way too hot!”
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