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Beijingers celebrate Lunar New Year driving around China ( 2004-01-21 14:14) (Xinhua)
Wang Shuli, a young woman working in Beijing, plans to drive
around during the Spring Festival, China's Lunar New Year which falls on Jan.
22, when hordes of Chinese return home for family gatherings. Wang, who has been driving for three years, has just bought
a new car. She wants to drive around Shanxi Province, north China, to celebrate
the Lunar New Year. According to a plan of the Beijing-based Youlujun Drivers
Club, organizer of the motoring tour of Shanxi, Wang and dozens of other
motorists will drive 3,500 kilometers from Jan. 22 and Jan. 24 to visit scenic
areas and enjoy the culture of Shanxi. As a result of rapid economic development, many Chinese have
realized their dream of having a car of their own as their incomes increase
markedly. In Beijing, the number of private cars topped 1 million late
last year. In tandem with the increase in the number of private cars,
motoring activities have become very popular among individual car owners in the
Chinese capital. With 150,000 members, the Beijing-based Dalu Auto Club
launched motor traveling in 1997. "Each year, we organize five to six such activities and each
time, we have 50 to 80 participants," said Gao Feng, a program manager with the
Dalu Auto Club. Besides people like Miss Wang who drive their own cars to
travel around China, there are more people renting a car to travel.
China has 14 million motor vehicles, but the number of
people with driving licenses is over 40 million. More than 2 million people in
Beijing, one sixth of the city's population, have driving licenses.
A survey of a dozen Beijing-based taxi companies showed all
their mid-grade cars had been rented by local residents who plan to drive around
China during the Lunar New Year. The increasing demand for motor traveling has also prompted
many travel agencies to set up drivers' clubs and operate motoring businesses.
Some name brand auto manufacturers have also established motoring
clubs.
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