Police at all levels have been ordered to crack down on tourism-related crimes during the National Day holiday, the Ministry of Public Security said.

The holiday period is one of the country's major tourism weeks, during which many people travel to destinations across the country.

In a notice released on Saturday, the ministry said it will work with local departments to strengthen the supervision and patrol of tourist sites and tourism facilities in a bid to weed out "hidden dangers."

Hard strikes will be given to activities including pornography, gambling, drug taking, forced buying and selling, swindling, and maltreatment of tourists at scenic spots, according to the notice.

Violations of public security, including theft, explosions and unexpected accidents, must be guarded against, and extra efforts should be made to seize illegal guns and explosives, the notice added.

October 1 is the beginning of the National Day holiday. It was first officially prolonged to a week-long holiday in 1999. The National Day holidays have become a "golden week" for the economy with more people spending money in restaurants and on entertainment.

During the last National Day holidays, Beijing recorded 4.32 million visitors.

Meanwhile, police have cracked nearly 500 gang cases since it launched a crackdown against Mafia-style crimes in February 2006, according to authoritative sources.

Police so far have referred 340 cases of alleged gang crimes for prosecution, said a spokesman for the office for national campaign against organized crime.

The spokesman did not explain what happened in the other cases.

More than 4,000 criminal gangs were wiped out during the campaign, the spokesman added.

Thanks to the crackdown, the number of serious crimes including homicide and robbery has dropped year-on-year in the first half of this year, said the spokesman.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)