An upgrade to better regulate the Jiaochangwei beach resort area on Shenzhen’s eastern coastline has been initiated in Dapeng New Area and is expected to be completed by this summer. The area will set a ceiling on the number of visitors at 8,000 people a day, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.

The area has changed from an unknown fishing village to a new holiday destination favored by local residents and even holidaymakers from other cities for its natural resources and the national historical site — Dapeng Fortress. Now the area is famous for the cluster of B&B and homestay inns in a variety of styles, attracting more tourists every year.

Under the previously mapped-out plan, the resort will be managed according to the standards of a national scenic spot, with more staff members to serving managers, security guards and cleaners.

The area will be walled with only seven entrances. Two of the entrances will have automatic gates and five of them will have service booths. Also, car entrances and walk-in entrances will be separate.

Access for the handicapped, children and the elderly will also be considered and built in the area, according to the administrative office of Dapeng New Area.

After enclosing the area, a 24-hour surveillance system will be installed to ensure the community’s safety. The automatic gates will upload real-time data of tourists to the back system and restrict entrance once the total number of visitors hits 8,000.

The resort management office will publicize a notification to limit entry on multiple channels of social media as well as on notice boards on some main roads. The Jiaochangwei area, covering an area of 5 hectares, is now home to 375 B&Bs with over 4,000 beds. The first batch of B&Bs appeared in the area in 2007.

Most of the more than 500 buildings were constructed or processed by the area’s original residents. With the commercial concept of B&B emerging in Shenzhen, an increasing number of people use or rent out their houses to earn money.

However, since most of the houses were built according to the residents’ own needs, the management of electricity and sewage water, as well as traffic congestion during peak seasons are causing more problems for the area.

To tackle the problems, Dapeng New Area’s administrative office invested 150 million yuan (US$21.85 million) in upgrading the area. When the project finished in 2015, the area witnessed a record number of tourists.

The year-round number of visitors who stayed in B&Bs and hotels at Jiaochangwei reached 500,000 in 2015 with the daily number peaking at 8,000 during the Labor Day holiday in May.

Meanwhile, some tourists choose to spend the night on the beach in tents, but they leave tons of garbage when they are done at the resort, which causes an overload of work for the sanitation workers and security guards.

Due to the lack of hands, some B&B and hotel owners were organized by the local B&B association to clean up the beach and streets.

Problems kept occurring as an increasing number of holidaymakers from other cities drove to the resort, bringing more vehicles and garbage. With the rent continuing to increase, some operators have started to transfer their B&Bs.

It is expected that the ongoing project will allow the area to be better managed and make life easier for both B&B owners and beachgoers.