With the World Health Organization (WHO) lifting its travel advisory against Beijing on Tuesday, life in the Chinese capital and other parts of the world's most populous nation has emerged from the shadow of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and returned to normal.
SARS, which had affected more than 30 countries and regions andclaimed over 800 lives since its outbreak late last year, finally sounded the retreat worldwide this month. Beijing, which was put on the WHO's travel alert list on Apr. 23, was the last city in the world to be removed from the list.
But in recent days, it has been quite difficult to spot people wearing face masks on the streets of Beijing. Just one month ago, going out without a mask would have been regarded as daring and even irresponsible behavior in the city of 13 million people.
"I am planning a family trip to Mount Huangshan," said Zou Jinguo, an employee of Beijing Telecommunications Co. Ltd.. Also known as the Yellow Mountain, Huangshan, located in the eastern province of Anhui, has always been one of the country's most popular tourist attractions.
At the peak of the SARS outbreak, Beijing residents were the "most unwelcome people" in China. They were forced to cancel or postpone almost all their travel plans, as most provinces and cities imposed a two-week quarantine on travelers from Beijing.
China's tourism industry, which was severely hit by the SARS crisis, is also expecting a quick recovery, as neighboring countries, like Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), are alreadyconsidering resuming tourism cooperation with China.
Sources said that as many as 51 travel agencies in Japan had jointly formed a special team for a five-day inspection tour of China. Last year, China received nearly 2.92 million Japanese tourists, more than those from any other countries.
In China's largest city, Shanghai, an ROK inspection group consisting of travel agents, airlines officials and media arrived to discuss tourism development in the post-SARS period.
According to the local government's plan to revitalize tourism,Shanghai will start receiving overseas tourists again from July 1.In September, the city will also play host to the 2003 Forbes Global CEO Conference as scheduled.
In Beijing, every major department store has hung out promotionbanners and posters to lure customers to unleash their long-suppressed shopping desires. Electrical appliances are now in great demand as summer has come, but electric fans have replaced air conditioners as a consumer favorite owing to new concerns about ventilation.
On the Guijie Street, a highly popular food street in eastern Beijing, restaurant owners were smiling again as each restaurant there now could sell 500 kg of spicy crayfish, a not-so-cheap delicacy, each day.
Migrant workers from the rural areas are back in the cities andtowns and have started a new round of job hunting. On Jun. 16 alone, about 50,000 migrant workers from all over the country arrived in Beijing by train.
Despite the SARS outbreak, foreign investment never stopped flowing into China. According to a survey of 29 of the world's top500 multinationals conducted by the Deutsche Bank, 88 percent of the respondents believed that China's actual use of foreign directinvestment (FDI) had maintained a steady rise during the SARS crisis, though its contracted use of FDI might have been affected a little.
In May, Beijing achieved actual use of 250 million US dollars of FDI, up 10.4 percent over the same period of last year.
Political analysts here have praised the new central leadershipof the Communist Party of China, elected at the Party's National Congress in November last year and fully installed earlier this year, for their "great contributions" to the successful battle against SARS.
"They have taken timely and effective measures, always had faith in science and the people, and displayed their capabilities to handle complicated situations," one analyst commented.
According to a newly-released report by the World Bank, China would be able to secure 7.2 percent economic growth this year despite the SARS impact.
However, Chinese medical experts have warned against any relaxation of SARS prevention and control measures following the lifting of the WHO travel advisory.
"Though we have beaten SARS once, we must remain highly vigilant. Otherwise it might make a comeback shortly or strike us again next year," said Doctor Liu Shijing, of the Beijing-based No.302 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.
(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2003)
