More than 220,000 people visited Dameisha Beach each day on the first three days of the May Day holiday, leaving 10 times more garbage than on a normal day, the Daily Sunshine said yesterday.

The city government sent 120 refuse staff to the beach, who collected 95 tons of garbage May 1, 100 tons May 2, 90 tons May 3 and 65 tons May 4.

"We worked from morning to night, and collected 10 times more garbage than usual. The beach brings people lots of fun, but why can't they treat it better?" said a worker surnamed Wang.

Less garbage was collected after May 4 as fewer people visited in the rain.

Many visitors left food and drinks cans, plastic bags, cigarette butts and nutshells on the beach. Garbage left under the Wish Tower was especially unsightly, the report said. Children dug up beer bottle caps and even broken pieces of glass while building sand castles.

"It's unfortunate that visitors lack awareness of environmental protection here in this beautiful city," said a woman surnamed Zhang from Jinzhou, Hubei Province.

"We can pick up bigger things like plastic bags, but we cannot pick up every nutshell. Smaller things left in the sand will spoil the beach if people continue to behave like this," a refuse worker said.

In Waterland Resort in Bao'an District, tourists were also seen climbing on statues to take photographs during the May Day holiday. The Daily Sunshine counted more than 100 people standing on the statues within half an hour, but no one came to stop them, it said.

Editor: Donald