Beijing shuts tourist sites, suspends bus services as heavy rain continues

Heavy rain continued to lash the Chinese capital Beijing on Wednesday, forcing authorities to shut tourist attractions, suspend bus services and construction work and evacuate residents from high-risk areas, state media reported.

The city closed over 300 tourist and camping sites and suspended operations at more than 4,100 rural homestays.

Some 250 bus routes were halted, while trains on 10 subway lines were ordered to run at reduced speeds. All sightseeing boat services were also suspended, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Residents in mountainous villages, low-lying areas and other places at risk of flooding and geological disasters were evacuated, authorities said.

More than 5,000 elderly people were also evacuated from care facilities.

Beijing recorded an average of 23.5 millimeters of rain from noon Tuesday to Wednesday morning.

All 3,357 construction sites across the city were also ordered to suspend work as authorities stepped up flood-control measures, with reservoirs releasing water in advance to create additional storage capacity.

Renewing its orange alert for torrential rain Wednesday, the National Meteorological Center forecast heavy rain across a broad swath of the country through Thursday morning.