The Beijing News
October 6, 2008

Beijing's tourism hit a new peak over the week-long National Day holiday, which concluded on Sunday.

According to The Beijing News, 5.25 billion yuan in tourism revenue was generated from the 2.35 million tourists who visited the city last week. The year-on-year of growth of tourist volume and tourism revenue are 22% and 27% respectively.

Among Beijing's numerous tourist spots, the Olympic Green topped the list as the most-visited destination: a total of 2.42 million people visited the park last week. It was followed by the Forbidden City, which scored 625,000 visitors. According to the newspaper, "many tourists said that because they were not able to come during the Olympic Games, they hoped that the National Day holiday could make up for their loss." It goes without saying that the strict security policy had kept many potential visitors out of the city during the Olympic Games.

According to news reports, gross retail sales in Beijing during the holiday reached 420 million yuan, with 115 million yuan coming from restaurants. Newly married couples were one of the factors that contributed to holiday market prosperity. "Many newlyweds [this year] chose to get their marriage licenses during the Olympic Games and hold their ceremonies during the golden week," said an anonymous functionary quoted in The Beijing News. The paper also reported that sales of home appliances enjoyed a double-fold increase during the holiday, but home sales moved in the opposite direction, falling 72% versus the same period last year.

The Beijing Youth Daily reported that over 4,000 plain-clothed officers had been sent to patrol major streets and venues during the holiday, making more than 370 arrests and busting 23 criminal gangs.

That paper also cited data from Beijing's Public Health Department that showed that 3,587 people reported being bitten by dogs during the holiday, a slight increase over last year's 3,435 dog bites.