Society

Tibetan tour guide Nyima took an early morning train to Beijing Friday to accompany an American tour group to Lhasa.

The 27 teachers from the United States are the third foreign tour group Nyima has received since April 1.

"In April last year I received six foreign groups in total," he said. "This year the number will at least double."

Nyima said he expects a buoyant tour market until fall. "We have reservations for the next six months."

As a result, his Lhasa-based company, Xueyu Pandi Tours, expects a 30-percent increase in revenues this year.

Nyima said social stability is the main reason for the recovery in tourism.

"Last year many people were cautious, fearing the riots of 2008 might reoccur. But this year more people are convinced it's safe to make the trip."

Tibet has around 80 travel services, which are mostly headquartered in Lhasa but have offices at major tourist destinations like Xigaze and Nyingchi.

Most tour operators have clearly felt the recovery in tourism.

At the end of March 2010, a 78-year old man, Huang Rixin, built a cell apartment (smaller than 2 sqm) for graduates.

Now the first resident, 25-year lady, Zhang Qi moved in after one day trial period.

Ten parents converged on Beijing from various provinces in the hopes of finding clues to the whereabouts of their missing children.

The parents, who hail from provinces such as Hebei, Guangdong and Shaanxi, met through websites such as baobeihuijia.com (which means "baby comes back home"), which include postings for missing children.

"Most of us have traveled many places around China in the past few years, and Beijing is one of the stops," said Wu Xinghu, 31, a father from Pucheng county of Shaanxi province.

The group has been in the capital for about a week and has appeared near large intersections to garner attention for their mission.

The restriction on car use in the national capital will be extended for another two years starting April 11, as traffic jams are still one of the city's most serious problems, the municipal government announced on Friday.

The restriction, which will be extended until April 10, 2012, will continue to follow the pattern as before, under which Beijing's car owners are prohibited from driving one day each week based on the last digit of their license plates.

According to statistics from the Beijing Transportation Research Center, until the end of last year, the streets of Beijing, with a population of 17.55 million, were packed with more than 4 million vehicles.