Wuhan Rebirth: Why China is the most visited city in this city

Norberto Pardes BBC News Mundo 30 October 2020    

The city of Wuhan in China was the ground zero of the coronavirus epidemic. Wuhan became the symbol of this world epidemic.   But in this city of about 11 million people, things are back to normal.   Just did not return to normal. The place where the epidemic started in December last year is now crowded with tourists. Wuhan is now at the top of the most visited cities in China. The week of National Day Golden Week, which is celebrated in China from October 1 to 7 this year, has seen the highest number of people visiting Wuhan.   According to the Hubei Province Department of Culture and Tourism, about 19 million people have gone on holiday there.   It is as if this coronavirus has become a distant memory. Chinese President Xi Jinping described Wuhan as a heroic city. The Chinese government says there is not a single coronavirus infection in Wuhan. However, many organizations and experts believe that the government's statement should be viewed with a little skepticism.   Wuhan’s rebirth: Authorities held a "flash mob" at Wuhan train station as part of National Day Golden Week in China.   A video of the event has been released on social media.   It shows thousands of people singing and waving Chinese flags.   Hua Chunying, deputy director of the State Department's information department, said Uhan had been reborn with more vitality after the coronavirus.

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Vivian Wu is the editor of the Hong Kong Bureau of the BBC's Chinese Service.   He says the government, with the help of the state media, wants to paint a picture of Uhan as if everything seems normal.   "Yeah, everything seems normal there. But for a lot of people and a lot of business owners, it's not the same as before. There are still a lot of concerns."   "But we get a message from the Chinese campaign that the Chinese government has been able to deal with the coronavirus very successfully," he said.   As of October 28, the number of people infected with coronavirus in China was 91,151. And less than five thousand died.   In the United States, a quarter of China's population, more than 6.5 million people have been infected with the coronavirus. 2 lakh 25 thousand died.   "A lot of new coronavirus infections are happening in China. But it doesn't seem to be happening there. And even if they do happen there, the government is making sure that it is suppressed very quickly and efficiently."     Every effort of the government The rebirth of Wuhan as one of China's favorite tourist destinations did not happen by accident. It is the result of the combined efforts of the national and regional authorities of the government.   In August, the Hubei provincial government announced that about 400 leisure centers in the province would be opened for tourists from all over the country and people would be able to stay there for free.   However, only half of the capacity of these tourist centers is being allowed to come. And those who come to visit here have to follow various rules and regulations starting from measuring the body temperature. But even then there was a huge response for visiting these tourist destinations. Such a huge response was unexpected.   Tourists who visit Uhan on National Golden Week visit the historic Yellow Crane Tower. It is in the heart of Wuhan.   The current structure of the Yellow Crane Tower was built in 1981. There is no entrance fee to get there now.   According to China's Xinhua news agency, at least 1,000 travel agencies and 350 hotels have joined the government's efforts. They are giving various discounts to the tourists.   Wuhan's rebirth as a tourist city can be seen as an expression of confidence in the Chinese authorities, especially in the way they have dealt with the epidemic.   They see it as a golden opportunity to overcome the devastating damage done to the tourism industry.  

The victory of the government But it is also seen as a symbol of the Chinese government's victory.   Read more: Two months later, the origin of the coronavirus was reopened   Uhan will test the people of the whole city in ten days   Coronavirus: Did the germs really come out of the lab?   Vincent Nai, the BBC World Service's China expert, said the government may be using Uhan for propaganda purposes. But at the same time, he says the situation has really improved.   "People know that the situation there has improved. If there was a coronavirus, no one would go there," he said.     "The fact that the Chinese want to go there, which was the epicenter of the Kovid-19 epidemic, is a huge victory for the government," he said.   Although China's tourism industry is slowly recovering, the Chinese Tourism Academy predicts that tourism revenue will fall by 52 percent in 2020 compared to last year.   Vincent Nai believes the situation will gradually return to normal. However, there are questions about whether this normalcy will last.   Double-edged sword Vincent Nai says this sense of normalcy is returning across the country. Now the number of people wearing masks on the streets of China is much lower than before.   For example, wearing a mask is no longer mandatory in Beijing, a city of 20 million people.     "It's a dramatic return to normalcy. But at the same time, it could be like a double-edged sword, because the virus has not completely disappeared," he said.   "There is no effective vaccine against the virus yet. If people lower their alert levels, a second outbreak of the coronavirus could be very catastrophic."   According to the International Monetary Fund, China is set to become the world's largest economy to achieve positive growth this year. The growth is expected to be 1.9 percent.

For the past six years, China's annual growth has averaged about 7 percent.   But while China's tourism industry is seeing a glimmer of light at the end of a dark tunnel, the same cannot be said of other sectors. In most cases, the coronavirus epidemic has hit these sectors and the economically fragile part of the population.   "The central government is trying to get the economy back on track. But in the big cities, young people can't find work and they don't have enough money to rent a house. So many are leaving the city," says Vivian Hu.   "A lot of people may be roaming around China right now. But keep in mind that the shadow of this coronavirus is still there."   People are trying to get back to their daily normal lives. But it will take time. And it's hard to get an objective description of what's really going on there. "

Written by, Sayka Arifin Orpita

References (Information Collected)  

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