Feature: People embrace normal life in Chongqing amid COVID-19 measures

CHONGQING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Every Friday and Sunday night, Wang Keran, a 28-year-old resident in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, would gather with his teammates at the Chongqing Olympic Sports Center for a frisbee match.

"I started playing frisbee in March this year. Despite sporadic resurgences in COVID-19 cases, I did not feel the epidemic had affected my life," Wang said.

"My friends and I go out for exercise almost every day, and we often go to restaurants or bars after exercise and enjoy our leisure time," Wang added.

Wang is one of the enthusiasts of the niche sports in Chongqing. The member of the frisbee club, which Wang joined, has grown to more than 2,300. Every week, the club will organize around ten activities at venues in Chongqing.

"Our activities have been barely affected thanks to the effective control of the epidemic," Wang said.

Tourism has also seen a steady recovery in the famous traveling destination amid proper epidemic prevention and control measures.

Data from the Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development showed that Chongqing's A-level scenic spots received 5.23 million tourists during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival starting June 3 and nearly 8.5 million tourists during the International Labor Day this year.

Many young people travel to Chongqing because of the relatively low consumption cost and unique urban landscape.

Li Yi, a sophomore from north China's Hebei Province, said that he often saw videos of tours to Chongqing on the internet, so he came here with his roommate during the summer vacation.

"The epidemic prevention and control measures are very friendly to tourists. We only need to do a COVID-19 nucleic acid testing within 24 hours after arriving in Chongqing. There is a test station near the hotel, which is very convenient," Li said.

With the influx of tourists, businesses in Chongqing's scenic spots continue to pick up.

Ali Buyuksakalli, a 36-year-old ice cream vendor from Türkiye's Istanbul, currently operates over 50 ice cream parlors across China.

In the ancient town of Ciqikou in Chongqing, Buyuksakalli's ice cream parlor is bustling with consumers daily. He said he is particularly grateful to China for its rapid and effective containment of the COVID-19 outbreak, which would have otherwise seriously affected his business.

"Many of my shops are in scenic areas, and the number of tourists picked up quickly after the epidemic was brought under control. Now, some of my shops can rake in a daily turnover of about 30,000 yuan (about 4,448 U.S. dollars) during the peak summer season," he said.

"I enjoy my sweet business and sweet life here," he said.