People’s Daily Commentary: Balancing Compassion and Rules After Tourists Were Housed in Student Dorm

A recent incident in Qilian County, Qinghai Province, has sparked widespread public discussion after stranded tourists were temporarily accommodated in student dormitories during the National Day holiday.

On October 3, Qilian County experienced an unexpected surge in visitors. More than 100,000 tourists reportedly entered the county, whose permanent population is only around 50,000. At the same time, snowfall and falling temperatures made travel conditions more difficult, while local hotels and guesthouses quickly reached full capacity. In response, local authorities coordinated with schools and temporarily opened student dormitories to accommodate some stranded tourists.

The decision soon triggered mixed reactions.

Many people praised the local government for responding quickly to an emergency. In a high-altitude area where nighttime temperatures dropped below freezing, providing stranded tourists with a warm and secure place to stay was seen as a practical and compassionate solution.

Others, however, raised questions about the use of student dormitories. They asked whether students' rights and interests had been adequately considered, how their personal belongings and privacy were protected, and whether the temporary accommodation arrangement met appropriate health and safety standards.

According to People's Daily, local officials said that using school dormitories had already been included in the county's emergency response plans. With temperatures falling below 0 degrees Celsius at night, some public venues did not have heating facilities. For elderly people and children in particular, spending the night in cold conditions at high altitude could pose health and safety risks. School dormitories, by contrast, had heating and could be quickly put into use.

Authorities also took measures to address hygiene and safety concerns. New sheets, pillowcases and other supplies were provided for tourists, while local departments and schools began restoring the dormitories to their original condition. Disinfection work was completed on October 7, according to People's Daily.

The incident was subsequently discussed in a People's Daily commentary titled“A Governance Question Raised by the Emergency Accommodation of 100,000 Tourists.”The commentary acknowledged the efforts of local officials, noting that the emergency response helped prevent tourists from being left without shelter in freezing conditions.

At the same time, it stressed that compassion and proper procedures should not be treated as mutually exclusive choices. Emergency management requires both warmth and rules. Authorities must respond decisively when unexpected situations occur, while also respecting the boundaries of public resources and protecting the legitimate interests of people who may not be directly involved in the emergency.

The episode also highlights a broader challenge facing rapidly developing tourist destinations.

Qilian County has become increasingly popular among self-driving tourists, particularly because of the scenic “Qilian No. 9 Highway.” During this year's National Day holiday, the county received approximately 221,000 tourist visits. The sudden concentration of visitors placed considerable pressure on accommodation, transportation and other public services.

For a small county, an influx of visitors several times larger than its permanent population can quickly exceed the capacity of existing infrastructure. Such situations test not only emergency response mechanisms but also the long-term planning capabilities of local governments.

The experience has also prompted local authorities to consider improving their emergency tourism plans. Officials have acknowledged that traditional estimates of visitor numbers may no longer be sufficient if the popularity of the scenic route continues to grow. More flexible accommodation capacity, better visitor forecasting and stronger coordination among government departments will therefore be increasingly important.

Ultimately, the significance of the incident goes beyond whether tourists should or should not stay in student dormitories.

It demonstrates that tourism growth can bring both opportunities and challenges. A destination may welcome large numbers of visitors, but the real test comes when visitor numbers suddenly exceed expectations. Can the city provide shelter? Can it maintain safety and order? Can it protect the interests of local residents and students while helping visitors in need?

These are questions that cannot be answered by goodwill alone.

A truly well-governed tourist destination needs both compassion and institutional safeguards. Emergency action should be decisive, but it should also be transparent, orderly and respectful of individual rights.

For Qilian County, the most valuable outcome of this episode may be the opportunity to turn an unexpected emergency into a lesson in long-term governance. The goal should not simply be to produce another “heartwarming” story during a tourism surge, but to build a system capable of handling future surges calmly and effectively.

Tourism needs traffic, but it needs the capacity to absorb that traffic even more. When emergency experience is transformed into better planning, stronger infrastructure and more precise public services, a temporary surge in popularity can become a sustainable source of development.