DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, August 17, 2021 | 17 LIFE

Left: The Xuanwu Lake scenic area in , province, is closed due to the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant. su yang / for china daily Right: Visitors snap reminders of their holidays in a village resort in Huzhou, province. xu yu / xinhua Another staycation summer

With the emergence of the COVID-19 Delta variant, travel plans are being changed with the emphasis now on booking and taking holidays much closer to home, Yang Feiyue reports.

resurgence of COVID-19 lations that were 10 times higher International Travel Service in “The main trend to note is that on the Chinese mainland than usual on Aug 4, right after the Jiangsu says he will change his busi- travel doesn’t have to be to faraway has once again cast a Civil Aviation Administration of ness model and consider a partner- places, and this new bout of COVID- shroud over expectations China announced a free cancella- ship system to better shield himself 19 cases, once again, shows that ofA a booming summer for the tour- tion policy on domestic air tickets. against risk. localization of offerings is worth try- ism industry. The Jiangsu-based online travel Yang Xue from the Xindalu Travel ing,” Xiao says. Liu Jia had high hopes for the sum- agency Tongcheng-Elong also Agency has seen 80 percent of book- Local rural tourism and urban mer vacation. The resident reported a rise in cancellations of ings through the company canceled, vacations have a sufficient repur- runs Manta Trip, a small travel agen- hotel reservations, transportation but says she has been able to mitigate chase rate. Although the customer cy in the capital’s Chaoyang . tickets and scenic spot bookings. losses by sustaining arrangements unit price is low, that is not necessa- “The bookings were great until A psychological change and cau- for themed outdoor experiences. rily the case for the profit margin, the news about COVID-19 made the tious approach by travelers are behind Yang says the company will Xiao explains. rounds,” he says. the mass cancellation, experts say. review the situation later and better He calls for more focus on rural Requests of trip cancellations fol- Su Xing canceled his train tickets brace itself against market uncer- homestays as well as the arrange- lowed in the wake of the news at the between Beijing and Qingdao, tainties in the future. ment of social group experiences in end of July. province, on July 30. Yet, the fall of cross-provincial tours the future. To date, Liu has refunded more It was before the domestic spread has boosted local tourism businesses. When travel is restricted during than 40 guests. of the new variant began to escalate. “We’ve seen an increase in home- the pandemic, more people will stay He says he is looking at a loss of “I knew the chance of me catching stay bookings over the same period in the city and they want to spend more than 50,000 yuan ($7,720) for it during my trip was still slim, but I in 2019, before the pandemic, weekends with those who share the August. was afraid of tougher regulations among local family and self-drive same interests and values, he says. Up until mid-July, the tourism hindering my return,” the Beijing The Shanghai Disney Resort, usually crowded with visitors from travelers in Beijing,” says Si Xinran, Moreover, Xiao suggests tourism industry had been expecting a travel resident explains. around the country, sees fewer tourists these days. a senior official with the homestay personnel, who had turned to boom for the summer. The trans- His concerns turned out to be wang gang / for china daily association of , product sales via their social provincial tour bookings made for warranted as COVID-19 prevention northwestern Beijing. accounts during the pandemic last the summer season (July 1-Aug 31) measures soon intensified. More than half of the available year, continue to sell distinctive through the country’s major online The Ministry of Culture and Tour- ies in an effort to reduce transmis- code checks, reservation only visits, homestay rooms have been booked rural experiences. travel agency Trip.com surged more ism suspended trans-provincial sion of the coronavirus. The capital staggered entry, improved air venti- through the summer vacation. “These frequently-consumed than 400 percent over those for last tours to more than 200 domestic city has also urged residents to avoid lation and thorough disinfection. The association has more than products enable us to continuously summer. areas considered to be medium and traveling to risky areas for leisure Over 20 provinces have also pro- 120 homestay brands in the district. establish connections to tourists Yet, most tour providers have been higher risk in early August, and and business, and all sports and fit- posed trans-provincial travel bans, She attributes the increase to the with low-frequency consumption,” snowed under with trip cancellations asked scenic sites nationwide to add ness facilities to exercise stricter including Sichuan, , Guang- fact that local residents couldn’t Xiao says, adding that it would as the COVID-19 Delta variant sur- further prevention and control prevention and control measures. dong, Chongqing and Shandong. leave the capital and could only trav- increase the appeal of such destina- faced in Nanjing and then spread to measures and enhance supervision More stringent precautionary Although financial losses seem to be el to the suburbs of the city. tions to travelers in the long run. multiple provinces across the country. over tourism operations. measures have also been put in inevitable, some travel agencies have Tourism expert Xiao Yuanshan The Beijing-based online travel Beijing has suspended train servi- place in most public areas, includ- planned for such an eventuality. says the tourism market’s needs Contact the writer at agency Qunar dealt with trip cancel- ces to the capital from a dozen of cit- ing temperature checks, health- Zhao Yong from Nanjing Guantu have changed. [email protected] artwork helps couple to put village in the picture

YINCHUAN — After is har- compliment to their work. vested, farmers normally use the Weng’s wheat straw patchworks discarded straw for feeding their have become increasingly popular cattle or composting. But, contrary and are selling well, generating a to the usual practice, a couple living total income of over 30,000 yuan in the Liupan Mountains region in ($4,640) last year. This July, he won Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui a big order from a souvenir shop autonomous region are creating art- owner in Shapotou Scenic Area in works out of this agricultural Zhongwei, a desert tourist destina- by-product. tion in Ningxia. Weng Guosheng, 52, lives in Liu Le’niu, the shop owner, placed Changcheng village of Pengyang an order for more than 1,000 patch- county. The village is renowned for works featuring elements such as its Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) Great rivers, deserts, sunrises and sunsets, Wall and beautiful terraced fields, as well as camels. and is on the national list of tradi- “I was born in a remote village. tional villages that need protec- When I was a child, wheat tion. were used for cooking or feeding The terraced fields are also an cattle and sheep,” Liu says, adding important theme of Weng’s wheat that he had never imagined they straw patchwork. could have artistic applications. Weng follows a series of steps to Left: Weng Guosheng and his wife Qi Guoxiang, who live in the Liupan Mountains region in Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous “I believe that the artworks, with create his art. He first dyes selected region, create artworks out of wheat straw. Right: The couple’s artworks are showcased. xinhua photos their local flavor, will be popular straws in different colors. He then among tourists,” he says. cuts them into various lengths in To create more patchworks, and certain patterns and sticks them droughts and a fragile ecology. ed learning how to make wheat the couple decided to return home Their efforts, however, have herald- also pass on the skill to the young onto a piece of canvas. Last but not Wheat, due to its durability in the straw patchworks by himself. and start a career as wheat straw ed an artistic vibe to this remote generation, Weng has planned to least, he carefully irons the patch- cold and drought tolerance, was a “When the construction site artists. mountain village. recruit some apprentices. He was work to make it vivid with clear staple food for locals. Like the older (where he worked) shut down dur- Weng grows wheat and harvests Weng can “paint” anything with invited to teach straw painting in a layers. generations, Weng had to live on ing the winter, I enjoyed my time off it carefully with a scythe, while oth- wheat straws, as long as he is careful local vocational school for an annu- “The ironed ‘painting’ feels like the wheatfield to earn his dinners. creating art,” Weng says. er villagers use machines. After dry- during the ironing part of process. al salary of 40,000 yuan. silk and looks gorgeous with a After getting married, he migrated Weng’s wife Qi Guoxiang showed ing and dyeing, they scrape the “Straw catches fire easily, so I have “I was born a farmer, and I’d never bright metallic luster, but few to a city to find work. no interest in his new “hobby” at layer of bark off the straws with a to be fully focused to avoid any fire- thought that I could become a would believe these artworks are In 2015, Weng chanced upon a first until Weng completed his first blade. related damages,” he says. teacher someday. All thanks to the made of ordinary wheat straws wheat straw painting on the inter- piece — a peacock. “It was so lifelike Wheat straw artworks featuring With the help of the local govern- wheat straw,” Weng says. “In fact, until they see them up close with net. It instantly evoked childhood that I was surprised. I began to historical figures, landscapes, ani- ment, the couple have attended the straw also has many other uses, their own eyes,” Weng says, adding memories of his grandmother and learn the skill together with my mals and flowers are on display in trade fairs to market their art- such as modeling and sculpture. I that, initially, it was even hard for mother teaching him paper-cutting husband,” she says. the workshop that the couple built works. Many people mistook their will continue to explore its artistic him to believe. and to make patchwork pictures. As the country’s battle against in their yard. Weng and his wife are works for embroidery at first sight, value.” Pengyang was once an impover- That winter Weng used some of his poverty gained momentum, and now affectionately called “the straw which made the couple proud, as ished county due to frequent savings to buy a computer and start- Pengyang was lifted out of poverty, painting couple” by their neighbors. they deem the misunderstanding a Xinhua