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Millions of Chinese embark on the roads with optimism, and a great deal of caution, during the first national holidays after months of closure.
Visitors with mouth guards in the Forbidden City in Beijing on Friday.
This year’s first celebration has been extended to five days off. Many take the opportunity to visit recently reopened tourist destinations.
One of them is the Beijing Forbidden City palace area, which has limited the number of visitors to 5,000 per day instead of the normal 80,000.
– That good! Now you can really enjoy it, says a young visitor, who is looking forward to reducing congestion.
In total, around 117 million people are expected to travel to China during the period from May 1 to 5, according to the transport ministry. That’s a third compared to the same period last year, but the highest flows estimated since China began easing coronary restrictions a few weeks ago.
Authorities have urged people to prioritize shorter trips, preferably within their cities or provinces.
“We hope this is a turning point, that we can show the world that it is possible to get out of the epidemic,” says Bao Ping, 45, who walks with his family, all with mouth guards, along the Huangpu River.
The opportunity to travel applies to residents of areas where the risk of contagion is considered low.
But some think it is too early to go back to old habits.
“I’m not going to jeopardize my health just for a little pleasure, because the threat, while invisible, is still great,” says Pekingbon Li, 36.
Chinese authorities reported 12 new cases of coronary infection on Thursday.
