More than 3,000 domestic and foreign tourists stranded in Jiuzhaigou, a famous scenic spot in China's quake-hit Sichuan Province, had been evacuated to safe places as of Wednesday, the National Tourism Administration said early Thursday.

About 6,000 tourists were stranded in Jiuzhaigou after Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake, the worst to hit China for three decades.

The remaining 2,517 tourists, including 682 from overseas, will be evacuated on Thursday, said the administration's disaster relief office.

The office said 11 Taiwanese tourists stranded in cable cars in Lingyan Mountain in Dujiangyan had been rescued, though a 56-year-old man died. His body has been transfered to a funeral home in Chengdu, Sichuan capital, where it will be cremated according the wish of his family.

As of 10?PM Wednesday, 19 British tourists and 12 guests from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) had been arranged to stay in the Wolong giant panda nature reserve. They were unharmed in the quake, the office said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2008)