Chinese tourist attractions upgrade services, smart monitoring to handle National Day holiday crowds

As millions of travelers flocked to China's cultural and historic attractions during the week-long National Day holiday, authorities nationwide rolled out upgraded digital ticketing, smart fire monitoring, and proactive service measures to guarantee smooth, safe operations.

During the holiday, running from Oct. 1 to 7, the Xiaoqikong Scenic Area in southwest China's Guizhou Province logged 204,800 visits in its first five days alone. Despite light rain and cooler temperatures, crowds continued arriving for its turquoise waters and karst landscapes, met by park staff handing out raincoats and hot ginger tea at shuttle drops.

"This is my second visit to Xiaoqikong. I haven't even gone in yet, and I've already had a cup of ginger tea. That's great. Thumbs up," said Lu Jiaming, a visitor from neighboring Yunnan Province.

To ease queues, the scenic area launched an online ticketing platform and upgraded 82 automated ticket scanners before the holiday, significantly speeding up park entry. Shuttle bus operations also drew high praise from visitors.

"It's easy to get around here, and the shuttle buses are quick," said Wu Siyu, a visitor from north China's Shanxi Province.

At historic sites, the holiday rush heightened the need for fire prevention.

In Hongcun, a UNESCO-listed village in east China's Anhui Province featuring 137 homes from Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, a smart monitoring system detected abnormal kitchen heat around midday Tuesday. Firefighters dispatched to the scene found an overheated pan without open flames and quickly ventilated the residence, neutralizing the hazard.

"During the National Day holiday, we use the smart fire safety system to collect and analyze real-time data on smoke levels, electrical loads, gas leaks and firefighting water supplies in key areas. That helps us deal with hazards before they become serious," said Qin Guangzhi, head of the fire and rescue brigade in Yixian County.

At Maijishan Scenic Area in northwest China's Gansu Province, known for its Buddhist cave temples, firefighters used mobile patrols and thermal-imaging drones to inspect steep, wooded slopes and ravines that are difficult to reach on foot.

"We station crews where visitors gather so we can respond within one minute and deal with an incident within three minutes," said Fan Guoyuan, a senior firefighter at the Tianhe Fire and Rescue Station in Tianshui.

In north China's Shanxi Province, artificial intelligence-enabled video systems monitored for flames, smoke and unauthorized use of fire at the Hanging Temple, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong. Firefighters also checked that safety equipment was working.

In Shaanxi Province, police and firefighters inspected small businesses along Yulin's historic old street and stationed emergency crews nearby.

Crowd management was another priority at Badaling, the section of the Great Wall near Beijing that received nearly 100,000 visitors a day during the holiday. On its steep steps and narrow passages, police diverted visitors before they reached congested areas and set up one-way routes to prevent opposing flows from meeting.

In Shanghai, police worked with organizers of more than 2,800 holiday cultural and tourism activities to keep walkways clear and manage crowded areas.

"We adjust to crowd levels in real time, using one-way routes and letting visitors through in waves. Where people gather, we'll make more announcements and use signs to guide them," said Hu Yubo, a police team leader at Zhu Jiajiao Police Station in Shanghai's Qingpu District.

Chinese tourist attractions upgrade services, smart monitoring to handle National Day holiday crowds

Chinese tourist attractions upgrade services, smart monitoring to handle National Day holiday crowds

U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on Tuesday that the Pentagon had barred him from entering a key U.S. military base during his recent visit to Qatar, which he said reflected an effort by the U.S. government to conceal the costs of the conflict with Iran.

Murphy made the remarks while visiting Riyadh, capital city of Saudi Arabia, the second stop on his current trip to the Middle East.

He told reporters that the trip had reinforced his belief that the U.S. administration was making an unprecedented and unconstitutional effort to withhold information about the war's costs and consequences from Congress and the American public.

The United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran in late February, prompting Iranian retaliation against U.S. military installations across the Middle East. Al Udeid Air Base, southwest of Qatar's capital Doha and one of the largest U.S. military facilities in the region, was among the major targets of the Iranian attacks.

A September 14 report by the U.S. Defense Department's inspector general, Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoDIG), said the conflict had caused significant damage to U.S. military bases and diplomatic facilities across the region, with hundreds of buildings and other structures damaged or destroyed and more than 50 U.S. aircraft damaged or destroyed.

Members of Congress have repeatedly called on the administration to provide more information about the financial costs and casualties resulting from the conflict.

Murphy, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he had never encountered such restrictions during his time in the Senate when discussing the Pentagon's decision to prevent him from accessing the U.S. military facility in the Middle East.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Murphy also saw extensive damage to the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh caused by a drone attack. He warned that the incident could have resulted in mass casualties had it occurred during working hours.

According to data from the Defense Casualty Analysis System of the U.S.Department of Defense, U.S. forces had recorded 838 casualties in the conflict as of September 8, including 18 deaths and 820 injuries.

The Pentagon has faced criticism over delays in releasing information about wounded U.S. service members during the conflict, while officials have cited security concerns as the reason for withholding or delaying some details.

US senator accuses government of concealing Iran war costs