Yanqing well-prepared for horticulture expo

Starting on Monday, global tourists can go to northern Beijing's Yanqing district to enjoy splendid parks and gardens at the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition near the Great Wall and the Guishui River.

The district has made sound preparations for an expected 16 million tourists who will visit in the next 162 days, with work done in the fields of travel, tasting, residences, retail and entertainment.

Yanqing has renovated nine roads, 36 residential communities, more than 50 villages and eight towns around the exhibition site, and also built lighting projects over nightscapes to improve the sightseeing environment.

He Haijun, deputy director of the Yanqing district commission of urban management, said local authorities have arranged 2.6 million potted plants and flowers in more than 10 types, setting up nine large flower terraces on main streets.

Tourists can even enjoy the blooming flowers during their journey to the exhibition site, conveying a festive happy atmosphere, He said.

Along with building and rebuilding roads linked to the exhibition site, Beijing authorities have arranged to add trains and buses to ease traffic pressure between downtown Beijing and Yanqing.

A 42.2-kilometer expressway linking Beijing's northwestern Sixth Ring Road and Yanqing district was put into operation early this year, helping break a transportation bottleneck.

Beijing's suburban S2 rail line will add more trains during the event, and nonstop trains have also been arranged. More bus routes and buses will be added, such as eight new bus routes running from downtown Beijing to the exhibition site and four regional bus routes to start operation in the district.

In March, Yanqing launched a smart traffic system integrating intelligent traffic management and big data platforms for traffic services, according to Li Minwei, deputy director of the Yanqing district transport bureau.

The system includes 222 cameras to supervise the road network, and LED screens to continuously share information on road conditions.

The big data platform could summarize the traffic situations of the road network at peak periods, helping authorities prepare personnel to guide traffic on the spot and prevent and reduce illegal behavior.

Li said 10 parking lots have been built around the site to deal with traffic spikes, adding 22,000 parking spaces. A traffic sign system and supporting service facilities have already been built and are in testing at the site.

Yanqing has upgraded catering services to satisfy differentiated demands for food. Within 8 kilometers around the site there are 22,000 dining seats, and within 5 kilometers there are 301 catering units.

For accommodation, there are 615 hotels offering 24,000 beds. The district also prepared a batch of "middle- and high-end" homestays, numbering around 200, to boost housing resources and made ready to receive global visitors.

Other popular existing homestays are ready to offer services, such as Shiguang Great Wall Boutique Hostel and Shanzha Courtyard, said Zheng Aijuan, deputy director of Yanqing's tourism commission, and 35 high-end homestays are offering 2,500 beds.

Tourists can get help from mobile apps and smart programs provided by an intelligent service system. The system monitors high-traffic places and tourist flows to help authorities issue travel tips and divert tourists.