Tourists have been welcomed back to Huangshan Mountain in China by the authorities who had closed the site for safety reasons.
The mountain site had been closed due to typhoon Haikui and has now re-opened. The site, a UNESCO World Heritage site in east China’s Anhui Province, had been closed for a short time as typhoon Haikui made her presence felt in the region.
Authorities had evacuated 19,000 people before the typhoon arrived on Wednesday. The typhoon had lashed the area with heavy winds and rains and some damage was inflicted on structures in the area. Tourism activities had to be halted as the authorities worked overtime to control damage and provide aid to those immediately affected.
Concerns about the safety of the 150 ancient trees located in the area were put to rest after it was revealed that the Huangshan Mountain administration office’s forestry department had dispatched enough manpower to protect those trees located in scenic areas.
The department has also made a plea to tourists to heed safety alerts and pay attention to information regarding closures of some areas in the region. Tourism authorities will be busy with protecting the trees and it was considered that an influx of tourists would be an unnecessary distraction. The authorities also said that water sports on the area’s rivers would be prohibited until the typhoon has passed.
Typhoon Haikui became a severe tropical storm on Wednesday afternoon. It had landed in China’s Zhejiang Province early on Wednesday and has previously visited Shanghai, as well as the Anhui and Jiangsu provinces.