Beijing park visitors surge despite jitters

Coronavirus jitters, combined with the burden of advance reservations, might have been expected to suppress crowds at Beijing's 1,000-some parks. But a lot of people turned out anyway over the recent holiday to enjoy the warm weather, take a leisurely stroll, exercise or just hang out.

Park visitors during the recent May 1 to 5 holiday surged back to more than half the number in same period in coronavirus-free 2019, the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau said on Tuesday.

Park employees stayed busy taking people's temperatures: There may have been smaller crowds, but 4.52 million visitors during the holiday is more than a handful.

Many popular parks, such as Beihai Park, Temple of Heaven and Chaoyang Park, received more than 10,000 visitors per day.

Under strict regulations for controlling the epidemic, 48 restaurants and 173 convenience stores in those parks were allowed to resume operations and receive customers.

Visitors were required to show their "green codes" — an indication of health — to enter a restaurant or convenience store. The total number of customers was held below 30 percent of capacity.