A photograph of the starry night that stargazer Peng Zhenhui saw from the southeastern end of Shanghai Photo: Courtesy of Peng Zhenhui
Amateur stargazers complain that their view of the universe is being obscured by the excessive use of artificial lighting in built-up areas.
The launch of Shenzhou XI on Oct 17 and its subsequent docking with the Tiangong II space lab has reaffirmed the Chinese public's love affair with space exploration and astronomy.
In recent years, the nation's star spotters have converged in increasing numbers on areas that offer unspoiled views of the galaxy, such as the Tibet autonomous region where altitude and lack of heavy industry guarantee clear night skies.
The growth of "night sky tourism" has prompted travel operators to provide a wider range of services catering to the needs of stargazers. For example, Ctrip, one of China's leading travel service providers, offers more than 100 different trips to dark-sky hotspots at home and abroad.
So far this year, more than 10,000 people have taken the company's star-tourism packages, with the younger generation - mainly people born in the 1980s - accounting for the majority of sales, according to Shi Yuduan, the company's chief marketing officer.
However, city-bound amateur astronomers and those on low incomes who are unable to afford trips to dark-sky spots at home and overseas are plagued by light pollution. A recent survey suggests that for many people, a glimpse of the Milky Way or other parts of the visible galaxy is no longer possible as a result of the affects of artificial lighting.
The New Global Atlas of Light Pollution, published in the journal Science Advance, shows that 60 percent of people in Europe and almost 80 percent of North American residents are unable to see the Milky Way. More pertinently for China, it also shows that light pollution makes the nebula invisible to people who live in the areas around Beijing and Hong Kong.
Overall, more than 33 percent of the Earth's 7.4 billion people can no longer see the Milky Way from their home areas, making light pollution a global issue, according to the atlas.
