Following a night of frigid rain and wind, Beijingers and tourists to the capital city, anticipating a cool, "golden autumn," were caught totally unprepared in a chilly morning of only 7 degrees Celsius.

People with T-shirts and thick sweaters could be seen in the streets, as they adjusted themselves to the coming of autumn.

Weathermen predict the city will be immersed in a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius this morning, with northwestern parts hit by frost.

However, the chill is expected to evaporate during the daytime, as the sun breaks through to warm the city, pushing the mercury to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius. And the temperature in coming days is expected to gradually pick up.

The number of visitors to the Great Wall fell sharply yesterday. While some wise people wrapped themselves up in sweaters and coats, others, unprepared in T-shirts, were forced to look for shelter, according to yesterday's Beijing Evening News.

However, the scenery was great, as visitors were able to see white snow on one side of the Great Wall, and red maple leaves on the other.

But the cold did keep many tourists from going outdoors. The latest circular by the tourism authorities indicated that visitors to the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Beihai Park and the zoo were only half of that recorded a year ago.

The notice said 87 of the specially monitored scenic spots in the country received 1.78 million tourists, a drop of 10 percent from last year.

Beijing Tourism Bureau had anticipated more than 2 million tourists during the week-long holiday season, marking the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In another development, streams of people swarmed at Macao customs but they went through checks in an orderly fashion during the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday from September 29 to October 2, according to latest customs statistics.

(chinadaily 10/04/2001)