Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

PRIVATE cars won’t be allowed to enter Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden after 7 p.m. on Chinese New Year’s Eve and between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. during the Spring Festival holiday and Feb. 11, the Lantern Festival, according to Shenzhen police.

Police will impose checks at the entrances to the park and divert vehicles to other roads in the Liantang area and Luosha Road.

The decision was made due to ongoing construction projects inside the park and a shortage of parking spaces.

Police will set up temporary parking spaces on the roads in the Liantang area and encourage the public to use Metro services. Parking violators will be fined between 500 yuan (US$72.9) and 2,000 yuan and their vehicles will be towed to Huangbeiling Vehicle Detention Center. Car owners can call 8223-5178 to inquire.

To meet the need of local people who go to the park and Hongfa Temple for New Year blessings, Shenzhen’s transport commission will arrange buses at Yijing Station of Metro Line 5 and Huangbeiling Station of Metro Line 2 to pick up travelers who have booked tickets to the botanical garden online between 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day, and between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Feb. 2 to 11.

Luohu District has decided to limit the number of visitors to the botanical garden and Hongfa Temple to ensure safety.

Only 10,000 visitors will be allowed to enter after 8 p.m. Friday, Chinese New Year’s Eve. For those who want to visit the park and the temple between Sunday and Feb. 2 as well as on Feb. 11, the open hours will be from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Only 20,000 tickets will be sold on each of these days.

For residents living in the Liantang area, they are advised to avoid Xianhu Flyover and Pengxing Road, and instead should take Luosha Road and make a U-turn at the office building area of Luohu’s public security sub-bureau and drive along Panshan Road or Jubao Road, according to Zhong Yu, a police official with the Luohu Brigade of the city’s traffic police bureau.