Shanghai gets muted New Year after stampede
Shanghai is toning down Chinese New Year celebrations by cancelling events and limiting people at tourist spots after a stampede killed 36 people seven weeks earlier.
Revellers, many of them young women, were trampled to death on New Year’s Eve after flocking to the historic riverfront, known as the Bund, a popular tourist destination.
Police on foot patrol and driving golf cart-like vehicles kept an eye on tourists who flocked to the Bund on Wednesday (Feb 18), the eve of the traditional festival.
Large stretches of the Bund remain closed off to the public by a temporary wall put up by the city shortly after the accident.
“Shanghai is safe. That was just a chance accident,” said one tourist from the southern province of Fujian, taking a group photo with family and friends near where the crush occurred.
In the wake of the accident, the Shanghai government has cancelled at least five events during the week-long holiday, including a food fair and traditional bell-ringing at the Longhua temple.
The city has also announced it will restrict the number of visitors at more than 70 tourist spots, including the viewing platform of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the flagship Shanghai Museum.
Source: AFP
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