Age now criteria for free admission at some tourist attractions

A total of 242 tourist attractions in the Yangtze River Delta region, including 20 in Shanghai, are expected to include age as the criteria for free admission for children, in addition to height.

This is in response to a joint call by consumer councils in Shanghai and provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.

Attractions in Shanghai include Shanghai Tower, Shanghai Disney Resort, the 88th-floor observatory of Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, Madame Tussauds wax museum, Shanghai Haichang Ocean World, Jinjiang Amusement Park, Shanghai Happy Valley, Dongping National Forest Park and Guangfulin Relics Park.

The Shanghai Tower operator said the attraction will offer from next month free admission to children who are at or below 1 meter, or children at or below 3 years old.

The Shanghai Disney Resort said it supports the initiative of giving consideration to both height and age, and will announce details once measures are finalized.

Elsewhere, the Zhouzhuang watertown and Yuantouzhu attraction in Jiangsu, the Qiandao Lake attraction and Moganshan Scenic Area in Zhejiang, and the Yellow Mountain Scenic Area in Anhui have all made similar responses.

Only 6.2 percent of tourist attractions in the Yangtze River Delta region give consideration to both height and age when offering free admission to children.

The rest make height the only criteria, according to the Shanghai Consumer Council and other councils based on information from 1,000 scenic spots.

Scenic spots that don't rely on subsidies usually only set height as the condition for free admission, according to the councils.

A survey revealed more than 50 percent of respondents said it was not reasonable to make height the only criteria when offering free admission to children to tourist attractions.

The survey covered 9,167 respondents in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Nearly 64 percent of respondents said age should also be considered.

Another 27.6 percent said age should be the single standard.

"My son, 4 years old, is 1.1 meters tall, and I have to buy tickets for him at most tourist attractions as no free admission is offered," said Chen Jing, a Shanghai mother. "It is by no means reasonable."

In China, 1 meter is the limit.

About 22 percent said the rules of free admission for children are not clearly explained by tourist attractions, while 19.3 percent said the rules of free admission are different at various attractions.

Many tourist attractions abroad such as Universal Studios Japan and Singapore all make age the standard, the councils said.

The councils called on more reasonable rules on free admission for children and said age and height should both be considered.

"The practice will lift service quality and improve the consumption environment, attracting more people to tour the region and boost the region's tourism industry development," said Tao Ailian, secretary-general of the Shanghai Consumer Council.