Rain, clouds may cast shadow on China's total solar eclipse viewing

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- As astronomy lovers around the world flood China for the July 22 solar eclipse, the country's National Meteorological Center Monday warned of rain and heavy cloud cover in the area where the total eclipse will be most visible.

Photo taken on July 11, 2009 shows the sketch maps illustrating the whole process of the full solar eclipse during a popular  science exhibition on the introduction to the forthcoming 2009  Full Solar Eclipse at the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum  in Shanghai, east China. The upcoming full solar eclipse,  predicted to betide on July 22 and believed to be the longest of  its kind in 500 years, will be visible in most parts of the  Shanghai Municipality.(Xinhua)

Thundershowers or thick clouds may overcast many cities in the Yangtze River Valley, including Shanghai, Chongqing and Wuhan as well as the eight sites with the best views recommended by the National Astronomical Observatories, according to local weather stations.

Jiaxing City, eastern China's Zhejiang Province, is one of the places where the eclipse can best be observed. All its hotels and inns are fully booked by eclipse watchers, 6,000 of whom traveled from abroad, according to local tourism administration.

"We have never seen such a huge number of foreign tourists flocking in," said Zhou Hongxia, deputy director of the local tourism administration.