Over the next two months, new IC cards will be distributed among local tour guides, according to Yu Changjiang, director of the municipal tourism administration.

The new cards, which are printed in four colors, will show the names of the guides, their IC numbers and what foreign languages they speak.

Last year, Beijing received 2.85 million visitors from overseas and 75 million domestic tourists, reaping an income of 113.2 billion yuan (13.6 billion U.S. dollars) from tourism.

The number of local guides now tops 10,000. Some have been found to be involved in illegal activities including demanding illegal commissions from tourists and working without licenses.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2002)