Latest statistics from the national information center indicate that by mid-June, 80 percent of restaurants and beauty saloons throughout China had resumed business, after temporary suspension due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.

From Mid-April to Mid-May when the epidemic was prevailing, the entire turnover from the restaurant business in ten major Chinese cities dropped by about 65 percent from a year earlier.

In Beijing, 70 percent of restaurants temporarily suspended their business during that period, leading to a considerable 78 percent decline in turnover compared with the same period of last year.

Nearby Tianjin witnessed a dramatic fall of 79 percent while Xi 'an, a major tourist destination in northwest China, and Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province in north China, both endured drops of 80 percent.

During that period, 98 percent of beauty saloons and 40 percent of barbershops in China put up their shutters.

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