Beijing Great Wall closes following downpour forecast

BEIJING - The Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing's Yanqing District temporarily closed starting Saturday afternoon, as a heavy rainstorm is expected to hit the area.

The reopening time will be subject to further notice, said a circular issued by the Beijing municipal tourism commission on Weibo, a microblogging website.

All tourist resorts in the district are required to close on Saturday and Sunday, according to the commission.

Beijing municipal land resources and weather departments on Saturday issued yellow alerts for a thunderstorm during the weekend and potential geological disasters over the next three days.

The national observatory renewed a blue alert for heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday, with some areas in Beijing and its neighboring provinces to see up to 300 mm of rainfall within 24 hours.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system for storms, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.