A begging ban took effect in Guangzhou on Thursday.

Begging and sleeping in the open was prohibited on main roads, footbridges, underground tunnels, government buildings, schools, consulate areas and tourist sites, the rule said.

The Guangzhou-based Guangzhou Daily and the Yangcheng Evening News conducted investigations to see if beggars were in the prohibited areas Wednesday and Thursday and found few.

There used to be more than 100 beggars, with more than 200 during peak hours, at the Guangzhou Railway Station alone, the News said.

The Guangzhou Daily reported one beggar at a busy commercial center and another one at the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport on Wednesday.

The two were soon expelled by security guards.

The Daily also found a beggar near the consulate area Wednesday morning. The man left at noon with about 20 yuan (US$2.4) from passers-by.

The Yangcheng Evening News found only one beggar on a main road Thursday. The beggar, from Guizhou, said he planned to leave the city.

Guangzhou's public security department said they had distributed many cards to beggars in the past days, informing them of the new rule and asking them to go to aid centers funded by the government, if necessary.

The department said beggars who panhandle aggressively and those who sleep in the open will be punished according to the State statute on public order.

Kidnapping and forcing children to beg will also be cracked down on, authorities said.

(Shenzhen Daily April 2, 2004)