Spring outings offer welcome relief from confinement
Tourists wait to board a Shanghai Spring Tour bus.
A tourist shows her health QR code while having her temperature checked.
A tour group organized by Shanghai Spring Tour walks through the Huakai Haishang scenic area in Jinshan District.
More than 150 tourists in seven groups organized by Shanghai Spring Tour embarked from Changning District on a long-delayed spring outing on Friday morning.
With Shanghai's landmarks and scenic areas gradually reopening, the groups are among the first organized by the travel agency since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
"I'm very excited about the trip because I haven't left home for such a long time," six-year-old Shanghai resident Shang Linyi said. "Strawberry picking sounds fun," he added.
The trip took Shang and his family to Zhujiajiao Water Town in Qingpu District, which reopened on Friday. A strawberry picking activity has also been organized for the afternoon.
"Nothing is more pleasant than a spring outing in such sunny weather. We picked this itinerary because my grandson looks forward to strawberry picking," said Chen Baolan, Shang's grandmother.
"I have been to the Zhujiajiao ancient town in the past and it's never as tranquil as it is today. It was always packed with tourists over weekends and holidays," said Chen.
Tourists pose at Zhujiajiao Water Town, which reopened on Friday.
Tourists sit separately on a tour bus.
The Shanghai Culture and Tourism Administration issued a notice on Sunday which allowed group tours within the city to resume, while a ban still remains in effect on cross-province or cross-city tours amid the epidemic.
Among the itineraries on offer are trips to Mingzhu Lake in Chongming District and Fengjing ancient town in Jinshan District, as well as a walking tour of Yuyuan Road in Jing'an District.
The routes to Jinshan and Chongming are the most popular. Two buses to Chongming Island took about 50 tourists to Mingzhu Lake.
The number of passengers on each bus is kept below half of capacity, or 25, to reduce close contact amid the epidemic.
Despite an early start time of 8am, the buses were fully booked, said Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Shanghai Spring Tour.
"I received many calls these days with people asking when we will resume tour operations as they have been locked at home for dozens of days," said Zhou.
"The booking numbers exceed our expectation," she said. "With the resumption of intra-city tour groups, our confidence is recovering as well."
Tourists pose at Zhujiajiao Water Town.
A tourist poses during a group walking tour on Yuyuan Road on Friday.
Among other public health precautions, tourists are required to present their health QR code and have their temperature checked before joining each excursion.
"All the itineraries are outdoors, featuring spring outing and flower appreciation and no group meal is provided," said Zhou, who added that buses are disinfected before departure as well as at each stop and after use.
The travel agency will organize one-day tours on weekends too.
A total of 84 A-level tourist attractions in Shanghai have reopened, accounting for 83.2 percent of the total, according to the Shanghai Culture and Tourism Administration.
A tour group takes a stroll along Yuyuan Road on Friday.
