On April 26, 2018, on the eve of the May Day Golden Week, the Beijing Scenic Spots Association and the Beijing Red Cross 999 Emergency Center officially signed an agreement to open an aerial rescue route for Beijing’s scenic areas, and held a grand launch ceremony at the Shihua Cave Scenic Area. Ye Xiangyang, Director of the Park and Scenic Area Division of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry; Zheng Mingcun, President of the Beijing Scenic Spots Association; Mao Jiuyong, Supervisor of the Beijing Scenic Spots Association and Director of the Yunmeng Mountain National Forest Park Management Committee; Wang Qingling, Secretary-General of the Beijing Scenic Spots Association; Duan Hongwu, Deputy Director of the Shihua Cave Scenic Area Management Office; Wang Zhenghua, Director of the Disaster Preparedness and Relief Service Center of the Beijing Red Cross; Tian Zhenbiao, Vice President of the Beijing Red Cross 999 Emergency Center, and other relevant guests attended the launch ceremony.
The opening of the aerial rescue route provides a new layer of rescue support for Beijing’s scenic areas, which is great news for visitors. It reflects the strong support from the Beijing Red Cross 999 Emergency Center for the area’s scenic spots, creating a convenient, fast, safe, and effective lifeline, safeguard, and happiness line for tourists.
In order to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s call that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” the Beijing Scenic Spots Association has made unremitting efforts that have led to significant development in the scenic areas, attracting both domestic and international tourists in droves. Especially during holidays, major scenic spots are fully booked, bringing considerable pressure on visitor flow and traffic. With the improvement in people’s living standards, the age structure of tourists has also changed significantly, with a growing number and frequency of elderly travelers. They often encounter emergencies in the scenic areas due to illness, injury, or natural disasters. At the same time, most of the over 100 scenic areas under the Beijing Scenic Spots Association are located in mountainous regions, where transportation is inconvenient and they are far from urban centers, making it essential to establish an aerial rescue route for Beijing’s scenic areas.
The aerial rescue route for scenic areas is therefore highly necessary. It will benefit tourists, staff, and nearby residents alike, making it a people-friendly route.
As Ye Xiangyang, Director of the Park and Scenic Area Division of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry, announced, “The aerial rescue route for Beijing’s scenic areas is now officially launched,” an integrated air-ground emergency rescue drill was conducted at the event. A helicopter took off from Shihua Cave, passed by the Ming Tombs Scenic Area, and finally landed at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. The drill tested the coordination capabilities of emergency landing sites and all involved parties, marking that the 999 aerial rescue can now provide aviation medical rescue support for Beijing’s scenic areas and surrounding tourist attractions.
The aerial rescue route covers seven outer suburban districts and has established eight scenic area helicopter rescue landing points: Fangshan: Shihua Cave and Shidu; Mentougou: Baihuashan; Changping: Ming Tombs; Yanqing: Badaling; Huairou: Mutianyu; Miyun: Heilongtan; and Pinggu: Jinhai Lake. Visitors to these scenic areas can contact staff to use the aerial rescue route in case of emergencies. Especially during the May Day Golden Week, when travel to and from Beijing for tourism and family visits as well as self-driving tours significantly increases, leading to worse road traffic congestion, if an emergency occurs, ambulances may be unable to reach or arrive in time. While ensuring aviation medical safety in the scenic areas, the 999 helicopters also provide safety for surrounding expressways such as the Beijing-Shijiazhuang, Beijing-Changping, Beijing-Zhangjiakou, and Beijing-Chengde highways, ensuring the safe travel of citizens.