Some 55.5 million people traveled in China on roads on Tuesday, the second day of the "golden week" travel peak, an increase of 7.4 percent year on year, said He Jianzhong, the Ministry of Transport spokesman on Tuesday.

The "golden-week" National Day holiday this year runs from Sept. 29 through Oct. 5.

A total of 760,000 medium- and large-sized passenger vehicles were used to deliver travelers in the country, He said, adding that most of the tourists were on the move for short-distance travel or in their hometowns.

The transportation situation nationwide remained stable on Tuesday, said the transportation control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday.

It said there were no bad traffic jams in the 39 major tourism cities, nor at the 32 hottest tourism destinations nationwide.

As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, a total number of 2.57 million tourists was registered in the 119 tourism destinations nationwide under survey, up 82.58 percent compared with Monday.

The capital city Beijing has seen a great number of tourists, with the Olympic Park hosting 156,000 visitors on Tuesday.

Qianmen Street, Beijing's oldest commercial area, received 150,000 visitors on Monday and the figure is expected to rise on Wednesday, the street administrating committee reported.

The street, dating back to a century ago, was reopened on Aug. 7 after a massive refurbishment lasting more than one year.

The city also plans to open all the lighting facilities to illuminate the downtown every evening from Oct.1 to 5, according to Beijing Municipal Administration Commission.

The Olympic co-host city Qingdao also ushered in a tourism peak on Tuesday, with 11,000 people visiting the Olympic Sailing Center in the eastern city. Enditem

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2008)