More than 1,000 tourists who had been left stranded in Yunnan Province since Sunday night were able to continue their journeys yesterday.

A 120-kilometer road between Lijiang and Ninglang Yi Autonomous County was blocked for 6 kilometers after heavy rains caused landslides at the end of the weekend.

A hundred vehicles were turned back, delaying more than 1,000 tourists on their way to Lijiang from Lugu Lake in Ninglang.

No casualties were reported, and rescue workers arrived at the affected section of road on Tuesday morning.

"We removed soil from the surrounding hills and widened the blocked road," said Ma Zhenhong, director of Ninglang County Tourist Bureau.

Buses were sent by the local government to pick up nearly 500 tourists and take them to Lijiang between 11 AM and 6 PM. Other tourists driving their own cars, mostly from neighboring Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, were asked to drive back to Ninglang, to take a four-hour detour.

Some chose to stay in Ninglang until the weather improved so they could continue their sightseeing.

By yesterday afternoon, traffic had resumed, but transport officials said the road would not be back to full service until Saturday.

Lijiang is a famous historical town and Lugu Lake is considered sacred by the local Mosuo people.

(China Daily July 21, 2005)