Nice ice for Spring Festival, assure parks

Following an incident when a 10-year-old boy fell through the ice at Houhai Lake, open-air ice rink operators have assured that customers will still be safe on the ice through the Spring Festival holiday, which starts February 9.

The boy was rescued Monday by two ice hockey players, and had not been skating when he fell.

Zheng Longhai, the manager of Shichahai ice rink, who is in charge of safety, said that the ice condition this year is better than in 2012 due to the continuous cold weather.

"We inspect the ice condition three times a day. The thickness of the ice is 30 centimeters now," said Zheng.

The thickness of the ice rink should be at least 15 centimeters for skating.

But if the grain of ice changes from horizontal lines to vertical lines, it will be dangerous despite the thickness.

"This change doesn't happen rapidly, it takes a long time. And we examine the grain everyday," said Zheng.

Zheng noted that it will be hard to close Shichahai ice rink which is part of an open park.

"If we close the ice rink too early, people will complain," she said, adding that last year, the rink remained open until well into February. Last year, the Spring Festival holiday began on January 23.

The manager of Taoranting Park ice rink, surnamed Gao, said the ice there is also still 30 centimeters thick.

"The largest capacity of the rink is around 300 people, but we normally have fewer people," he said.

Xia Ran, the media officer from Beijing park administration, said that every year they consult on the dates to close down the ice rinks in municipal parks.

"But the time of the closure varies. The closure notification this year hasn't come yet," she said.

"If the ice rink is on a lake, we will order an immediate closure. For other rinks, they can decide when to close depending on the ice condition," said Xia.

At Shichahai ice rink Tuesday, around 70 people were skating, but there was no obvious safety equipment on show, including life jackets if anyone were to fall through the ice.

A man surnamed Zhang, who works in marketing, said he brings his wife and son to the rink every year.

"This place has daily inspections and I believe there won't be any safety problems. If it stays open during the Spring Festival holiday, I'll definitely come," said Zhang.

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