Safety measures prepared for popular Shanghai spots during holiday
Yuyuan Garden is illuminated on January 29, 2019, as the Spring Festival approaches.
It’s expected that Shanghai’s most popular tourist spots will draw more visitors than last year during the coming Spring Festival, and the police announced on Friday measures to be taken to ensure safety.
At the Yuyuan Garden area, where the number of visitors on the day of the Lantern Festival last year exceeded 260,000, police said there will probably be more tourists this year.
With crowd measuring technology, police are able to tell the real-time and accumulative number of tourists at the most populous spots in the area and take responsive measures as crowds grow.
At Yuyuan Tourist Mart, only the No.2 gate will allow entrance when the real-time number of visitors exceeds 23,000, and body inspection machines will be located at No.2 and No.3 gates. The machines, using passive terahertz technology, emit no radiation to those passing through, police said.
Also, when the real-time number of tourists within the range of the mart exceeds 13,000, the Zigzag Bridge will allow only one-way traffic.
As many residents will visit Buddhist temples on Chinese New Year’s Eve, traffic control will be implemented in areas around some of the most popular temples.
In Xuhui District, Longhua Road W. from Tianyaoqiao Road to Longhua Road in Longhua Temple area will ban all motor vehicles between 10pm on February 4 to 4pm the next day. It is estimated that 60,000 to 80,000 people will visit the temple during that time.
In Putuo District, Anyuan Road from Jiangning Road to Shaanxi Road N. in the Jade Buddha Temple area will ban all vehicles from midnight on Chinese New Year’s Eve to 5pm the next day. Also, Lanxi Road from Tongchuan Road to Beishi Road in Zhenru Temple area will ban all motor vehicles from 8pm on the Chinese New Year’s Eve to 5pm the next day.
At Zhujiajiao in suburban Qingpu District, a popular ancient water town, police will use drones this year to monitor the crowd and make patrol boats stand by on the river in case of emergencies.
Police said they will also be guarding other popular tourist spots including the Bund, Lujiazui and the Disney Resort.
During another restless Spring Festival holiday and Lantern Festival for the police, over 30,000 officers will be working every day to ensure the safety of the city.
In recent months, Shanghai police have also carried out an inspection of 7,700 hotels in the city for security and fire hazards, which resulted in 26 hotels being fined or having business suspended due to offenses.
