About ten thousand Beijing tourists are busy preparing to pack their bags for a European getaway, during the "Golden Week" of the National Day Holidays.

Some tourism agencies say a popular package tour in Europe includes 15 countries in 10 days. Germany, France, North European countries and Portugal are the most popular destinations.

Though expensive, these Europe packages have attracted many Chinese tourists in the first "Gold Week" since European countries were opened up to Chinese travelers this September.

Prices for these packages average 30,000 yuan or 3,600 US dollars.
 
(CRI.com September 30, 2004)