Sightseeing bus tours to the
Shanghai Yangshan Deep-water Port, will carry up to 1,500 travelers per day but seats have to be reserved through three centers, the city's tourism industry watchdog said Saturday.
The three booking outlets, the
Shanghai Sightseeing Bus Center at the
Shanghai Indoor Stadium, the
Shanghai Industry Tourism Center on Jianguo Road, and the Tourism Service Center in Nanhui District, can each send a maximum of 500 passengers daily to the deep-water port. Bookings, however, have to be made one day in advance.
"But phone bookings aren't available for the first day trips. The demand is high, and tickets need to be purchased at the counter," said Xu Zhuoru, a spokesperson for the
Shanghai Sightseeing Bus Center.
Travelers will first visit Lingang New City, the city's latest high-technology hub. The bus will then pass through the 32.5-kilometer Donghai Bridge, known as the world's longest overpass, finally arriving at the viewing platform on the small Yangshan Island, where tourists can get off for pictures and enjoy a broad view of the deep-water port.
Buses will set out from the
Shanghai Indoor Stadium and the service center in Nanhui. The trip costs 60 yuan (US$7.4) per person, but for passengers starting in Nanhui it is 35 yuan.
In addition, organized group tours will take at least 40 people on a 45-seat bus, with the price for each group fixed at 2,700 yuan. Buses will pick up travelers from any location within the city's Inner Ring Road.
The
Shanghai Industry Tourism Center only accepts group tours of more than 40 persons, while the other two centers also take smaller groups.
"Hence for a group with 20 or 30 travelers, if they don't want to sit with people they don't know, it's better to gather more friends to fill the empty seats," said Zhao Liming, staff at the
Shanghai Industry Tourism Center, which incidentally only accepts group tours.
Tours to the deep-water port will be available daily from 8:30am to 4:30pm. The port, built on an island at the mouth of the
Hangzhou Bay, 27.5 kilometers from Nanhui's Luchao Port, is the centerpiece of Shanghai's plans to enhance its status as one of the world's biggest shipping centers.
A round-trip, starting from the city center, will take four hours while from Nanhui it's a two-hour trip.
A customer service hotline (6439-3615) has also been launched for complaints and suggestions.
