20,000 Visitors Flooded This UNESCO World Heritage Site After China Lifted Social-Distancing Restrictions—Leading to Its Shut Down Again

Will people still be afraid of large crowds after social
distancing measures have been lifted?

Perhaps not. When China removed its quarantine requirements over
the weekend, thousands of citizens flocked to the Huangshan
mountains in Anhui province, where the government was offering free
entry to the three-day Ching Ming festival to help boost tourism,
according to reports that originated on
Weibo.

In pictures that quickly circulated on the popular social media
platform, hordes of people packed together cheek to jowl on the
paths. The rush was so great that, by Saturday morning, officials
announced the park had reached its 20,000-person capacity and would
close.

The cultural landmark was designated a UNESCO world heritage
site in 1990, and features narrow walking paths that even in normal
times would require some amount of physical contact between
visitors.

China was the first country to be hit by the novel coronavirus,
and suffered a staggering death toll beginning in late December
2019, though it seemed that vigilant isolation measures were having
a positive effect. On Monday, the country reported only 39 new
case. The total cases reported for China stand at 81,708 with 3,331
deaths.

Museums and cultural attractions that were closed from late December and early January
include the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta
Army, as well as malls and other tourist destinations, putting a
huge dent in the tourism industry. In mid March, however, several museums in China announced they would
reopen to the public, with advanced health and safety measures in
place. Now it seems that may have been too much, too soon, as
images show security officers holding back crowds at Huangshan, and
worries mount that another wave of the virus could take hold.

Hong Kong, which had offered a model of success for the rest of
the world with relatively few COVID-19 cases, took drastic measures to flatten the curve and
then attempted to reopen museums in mid March, only to watch the
cases climb right back up as soon as travel bans loosened and
public interaction resumed. Hong Kong then reversed its decision
and re-instituted closures, signaling what may be in store for
mainland China.

The post 20,000 Visitors Flooded This UNESCO World Heritage
Site After China Lifted Social-Distancing Restrictions—Leading to
Its Shut Down Again appeared first on artnet News.