Throngs of people visit Nanluoguxiang. (File photo/Chinanews.com)
(ECNS) -- Overwhelmed by visitors, Beijing's famed tourist spot Nanluoguxiang, an alleyway several kilometers north of the Forbidden City, will stop receiving tourist groups starting on April 25 and also cancelled efforts to upgrade its tourism rating.
Eight meters wide and 787 meters long, it has a history dating back more than 740 years and has become one of the city's most popular tourist draws in recent years. The trendy north-south hutong-style lane is known for its boutiques, restaurants and bars.
Nanluoguxiang receives an average of 30,000 visits a day, 50,000 on the weekend, and 100,000 during festivals, far beyond its carrying capacity of 17,000 tourists.
A government official said the large number of tourists could easily trigger public security risks, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The move to cancel its application for a 3-A tourism attraction rating is also intended to control the influx of tourists and minimize the impact on local residents who still spend their daily lives in the neighborhood, it was added.
The Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development will no longer advise travel agencies to organize group visits to Nanluoguxiang.
The Forbidden City capped its number of visitors at 80,000 a day last year to better protect the World Heritage site.
