(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-10 14:36

BEIJING  -- More than 23,820 tourists took bus trips during the Dragon Boat Festival Holiday from the Shanghai Sightseeing Bus Center, officials said yesterday.

Over the past two weeks, short-term trips to scenic spots have been popular, with nearly half choosing to travel on Saturday, the first day of the three-day holiday.

Two-day trips were the most popular, said the center, and more than 90 percent of short-term travel packages were booked out.

Trips across the new Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which opened on May 1, were increased to 14. Before the holiday, tickets to Ningbo, which cross the bridge in Zhejiang Province, were solidly booked.

The center has sold nearly 500 tourist tickets to Wufangzhai and Nanhu, also in Zhejiang. There tourists could try traditional holiday snacks like authentic Jiaxing zongzi, glutinous rice balls wrapped in leaves, which are famous in the area.

Water towns such as Zhouzhuang and Zhujiajiao were also popular destinations, officials said.

Shanghai Hongqiao Airport handled 30 percent more passengers than usual, with many bound for surrounding cities, Japan or South Korea.

Immigration police said as the holiday was rather short, people traveling abroad chose closer destinations.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport said traffic volumes were only slightly higher than usual, with Japan as the most popular destination.

The airport also said Gulf Air will open direct flights from Shanghai to Bahrain from June 17, every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Shanghai railway officials yesterday added two new trains from Shanghai to Jinggangshan in Jiangxi Province for students on June 20 and 27.