More and more people were going out since the province has kept a "zero" report of new cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) for over 10 days, said Cui Zhiwei, deputy director of the provincial tourism bureau.

Many tourist sites in the province welcomed a good number of visitors last weekend after the travel ban was lifted, Cui said.

Dujiangyan Dam, an ancient water conservancy project and one of Sichuan's sites on the World Heritage List, received 26,000 visitors on Sunday. Xiling Snow Mountain received over 6,000 tourists over the weekend.

More than 60 tourism agencies in the capital city of Chengdu have resumed services and many people traveled by their own cars as well.

"We didn't travel during the May holiday because of the SARS outbreak, so we were eager to enjoy nature soon after the travel ban was lifted," said Pu Pengqiang, who had just come back from visiting the "Trumpet Shell Valley."

Sichuan is rich in scenic attractions. Of the 28 cultural and natural sites China has listed on the World Heritage List, six of them are located in the province, namely, Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Emei Mountain, the Leshan Mountain Giant Buddha, Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Dam.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2003)