BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Hu Jintao has appointed four new ambassadors in line with decisions adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature.

    Liu Jian was appointed ambassador to Malaysia, replacing Cheng Yonghua.

    Gao Deyi was appointed ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho, replacing Qiu Bohua.

    Gong Jianwei was appointed ambassador to Georgia, replacing Wang Kaiwen.

    Cheng Guoping was appointed ambassador to Kazakhstan, replacing Zhang Xiyun.

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — The China National Tourism Administration has found in an online survey that inbound tourism would gain steam during the 7-day National Day holiday.

    About 33 percent of the 14,666 people planned outgoings to downtown or suburban areas, while another 24 percent surveyed intended to go sightseeing in other provinces.

    The number of outbound tourists is surprisingly small as only 3percent of the surveyed said they would visit overseas destinations during the national week.

    Among domestic destinations, Beijing, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Shandong and Gaungdong are the five most popular.

    For outbound tourists, the hottest destinations are Hong Kong and Macao.

    Another survey conducted by Ctrip.com, a leading travel agent in China, also shows that more than half of the 1,000 people surveyed prefer traveling in the country, with Beijing as the most popular destination.

    Beijing opened the Olympic Green to the public on September 29 to correspond with the tide of tourism. The park in northern Beijing is expected to see a total of 250,000 tourist each day during the National Day holiday, according to Zhang Huiguang, director with the Beijing Tourism Bureau.

    The iconic National Stadium and the National Aquatic Center, also known as the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube, is also open to ticket-holders. Ticket prices range from 20 yuan (2.93 U.S. dollars) to 50 yuan.

    Other popular tourist destinations also include Olympic co-host cities such as Shanghai and Qingdao.

    Insiders attributed the expected inbound travel fever to the cheap prices of domestic tours.

    Prices of domestic tours have been cut to attract tourists because the tourist attractions and travel agencies suffered huge losses in the first half of this year ravaged by the unprecedented snowstorms in February and the May-12 earthquake hit in Sichuan Province.

    The travel rush has added pressure to China’s transport system. Wang Yongping, spokesman for the Ministry of Railways said 57 million people are predicted to be transported this week, an increase of 7.57 million from the same period last year.

    Some 55.6 million traveled on roads on Monday, the first day of the holiday, a rise of 5.3 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Communications.

    SHANGHAI, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Shanghai, China’s business hub, lifted its typhoon warning on Tuesday evening as Jangmi moved northwest out of the coastal areas in the afternoon.

    Typhoon Jangmi, downgraded to a strong tropical storm Monday afternoon, bypassed China’s coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian and Shanghai City, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to some areas.

    Fine weather was expected in the following three to four days in the coastal region, a boon to tourists enjoying the week-long national day holidays, according to the weather forecast.

    Jangmi, which slammed into Taiwan Sunday afternoon, left two people dead and forced the closure of schools and offices before moving to the Chinese mainland early on Monday.

    It brought strong winds of up to 100 km per hour as well as more than 30 cm of rains in 24 hours on Monday in coastal areas of Zhejiang Province, according to the provincial meteorological station.

    More than 30 overseas vessels had been forced to cancel their plans to enter Shanghai harbors as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, and more were stranded in the harbors, the city’s Waigaoqiao port officials said.

    Jangmi came on the heels of Hagupit, the 14th strong typhoon of this year. It landed in the southern Guangdong Province last Wednesday. Hagupit left China on Thursday and moved into Vietnam, after killing at least 17 people.

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Some 55.5 million people traveled in China on roads on Tuesday, the second day of the “golden week” travel peak, an increase of 7.4 percent year on year, said He Jianzhong, the Ministry of Transport spokesman on Tuesday.

    The “golden-week” National Day holiday this year runs from Sept. 29 through Oct. 5.

Tourists look at the giant pandas at the Xiangjiang Wildlife World in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, Sept. 30, 2008. Ten giant pandas in the zoo, including five adopted from Wolong nature reserve in the quake-hit Sichuan Province, become the tourists’ favorite attraction in the city during the National Day Holidays. (Xinhua Photo)

    A total of 760,000 medium- and large-sized passenger vehicles were used to deliver travelers in the country, He said, adding that most of the tourists were on the move for short-distance travel or in their hometowns.

    The transportation situation nationwide remained stable on Tuesday, said the transportation control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday.

    It said there were no bad traffic jams in the 39 major tourism cities, nor at the 32 hottest tourism destinations nationwide.

Tourists enjoy the dishes of beef during a Muslim food culture festival in Pingba County, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, Sept. 29, 2008. More than 600 tourists enjoyed the dishes that are presented on joint tables of nearly 200 meters long. (Xinhua Photo)

    As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, a total number of 2.57 million tourists was registered in the 119 tourism destinations nationwide under survey, up 82.58 percent compared with Monday.

    The capital city Beijing has seen a great number of tourists, with the Olympic Park hosting 156,000 visitors on Tuesday.

    Qianmen Street, Beijing’s oldest commercial area, received 150,000 visitors on Monday and the figure is expected to rise on Wednesday, the street administrating committee reported.

Newly-weds wave on a boat during a group wedding at the Folk Culture Village in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, Sept. 29, 2008. About 90 couples attended a group wedding that features different wedding customs of China’s ethnic groups. (Xinhua Photo)

    The street, dating back to a century ago, was reopened on Aug. 7 after a massive refurbishment lasting more than one year.

    The city also plans to open all the lighting facilities to illuminate the downtown every evening from Oct.1 to 5, according to Beijing Municipal Administration Commission.

    The Olympic co-host city Qingdao also ushered in a tourism peak on Tuesday, with 11,000 people visiting the Olympic Sailing Center in the eastern city.

Students look at the pumpkins at a park in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Pronvince, Sept. 30, 2008. Students of Hetao primary school visited a farm park in the city to experience the farmers’ life by learning some simple agricultural works. (Xinhua Photo)

    TAIYUAN, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — The death toll from a landslide in north China’s Shanxi Province stood at 41 as rescuers stopped their search efforts on Tuesday.

    Rescuers also found some parts of unidentified bodies and DNA tests would be conducted, said Lofan County rescue headquarters.

    Some bodies could not been identified at the site because they had been buried for nearly two months, rescuers said.

    A landslide toppled a waste dump from a local iron mine on Aug.1, burying Sigou Village in Loufan County in the suburbs of the provincial capital Taiyuan.

    More than 8,000 rescuers with 921 digging vehicles had been searching for the missing for weeks.

    The government had offered compensations to families of the victims and other households suffering economic losses.

    A team sent by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, was investigating the landslide, which had initially been played down by local authorities.

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Nigerian President Umaru Yar’adua Monday telephoned Chinese President Hu Jintao to congratulate China on its recent successful Shenzhou-7 space mission.

    Yar’adua said following the successful hosting of the Olympics and Paralympics, China passed a milestone achievement by completing the Shenzhou-7 space mission, which marked the first spacewalk by Chinese astronauts. The successful conclusion of the mission fully displayed the country’s capability and determination to become a world power.

    On Sunday, Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat sent a congratulatory message to China’s Premier Wen Jiabao on the same occasion.

    Somchai lauded the mission as a milestone achievement, which became an unforgettable memory for all.

    China’s progress in science and technology will benefit not only Chinese people but also humanity as a whole, the prime minister added.