HAIKOU, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Hainan, a popular destination for Chinese tourists during the coming Spring Festival, is getting prepared for holiday transportation, according to local authorities.
As one of the 12 measures taken by the Hainan provincial government, three domestically-made laser monitors were installed at two major ports in Haikou, the provincial capital, and Xuwen, a port in Guangdong province at the other side of the Qiongzhou Strait, the China Daily newspaper reported on Saturday.
The new facilities will help improve precise monitoring of fog conditions over the 29.5-km-wide strait linking the two provinces, said Cai Qinbo, director of the Haikou Meteorological Observatory.
Other measures include faster ship-loading, bigger parking lots and more safety inspections.
According to Cai, navigation and meteorological conditions will be better than that of last year, due to less fogs and fewer strong winds in the following 10 days.
During last year's Spring Festival, about 100,000 travelers were stranded on the island by a prolonged heavy fog.
Local airport authorities is expecting an estimated 37,000 of inbound and outbound flights in Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport, transporting some 6.3 million passengers during this year's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush.
Data from the provincial tourism development commission shows that Hainan welcomed 5.67 million tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday last year.
