Top Shanghai tourist attractions that had reopened earlier this month following the peak of China’s deadly coronavirus outbreak were ordered on Sunday to close again to prevent its spread, the government-published Shanghai Daily reported today, citing operators.
The move includes popular Shanghai Tower and Oriental Pearl TV Tower, along with scenic cruises along the Huangpu River through the heart of the city, the newspaper’s online edition said. Shanghai Tower, the world’s second-tallest building, closed its observatory on Jan. 24 and had originally reopened on March 12, Shanghai Daily said.
Twenty-five mainly indoor tourist attractions have been ordered to shutter their indoor sections from tomorrow, as have the indoor areas at 37 outdoor attractions, including the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, City Beach, and Chenshan Botanical Garden, the paper said. Twelve scenic areas originally scheduled to reopen “soon” have also been ordered to delay, and venues which have not reopened yet were ordered to remain closed, the paper said.
Shanghai, a main Asia business hub in China whose numerous international businesses include Microsoft, GM and Johnson & Johnson, is also home to top businesses including e-commerce site Pinduoduo, led by billionaire Colin Huang, investment firm Fosun International, co-chaired by billionaire Guo Guangchang, and online media Bilibili, chaired by billionaire Chen Rui.
China from March 28 temporarily barred most foreigners, including those with residence visas, from entering the country in a move to prevent overseas returnees from spreading the virus. Shanghai today reported seven new cases of “imported” Covid-19 that had been contracted abroad.
As elsewhere, the outbreak has hit China’s travel and hotel companies hard. Shares in U.S.-traded online travel firm Trip.com, formerly known as Ctrip, have declined by 30%so far this year; shares in China Eastern, the state-controlled carrier based in Shanghai, have lost nearly 35% in New York trade.
Shanghai-headquartered Trip.com’s chairman James Liang in a statement today called on the world to avoid xenophobia at a difficult time. “The international outbreak of COVID-19 has been met with encouraging mutual support from many countries, but unfortunately, xenophobia and anti-global tendencies have also become more apparent than ever,” Liang said. “In this crisis, humanity shares a single fate, and to achieve victory, the world must come together to affirm global co-operation, and prevent an ‘outbreak’ of blind xenophobia.”
–Follow me @rflannerychina
