The city's consumer protection commission warned consumers yesterday to be careful if they plan to visit an entertainment park over the coming National Day holiday as reports of injuries are on the rise.

Complaints about poor safety conditions in some venues have also increased this year.

A local consumers' hot line has received 56 such complaints so far this year, an increase of 27 percent from the same period last year, according to the Shanghai Commission of Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection.

Quite a number of disputes arose from injured consumers unsatisfied with the compensation offered by park operators.

In one recent case, a local resident surnamed Liu broke several bones while skiing at the Shanghai Yinqixing Indoor Skiing Facility in suburban Minhang District on July 31.

Liu tried to ski on a level-2 slope, which is meant for skillful skiers, but lost her balance and crashed into the protection wall.

Her left calf shinbone broke, and her left anklebone was smashed in the clash. The woman is still in hospital, and her medical bills have already topped 36,000 yuan (US$4,337).

However, the ski slope operator insisted it is not responsible for the accident and refused to compensate, as it has done enough to remind skiers of the dangers, such as the warning boards, and warning words on the admission tickets.

"It is the park operators' basic responsibility to ensure consumers' safety," said Zhang Jiaming, the commission's vice secretary general.

"They should have no excuse to be exempted from shouldering this responsibility."

In addition, a bulk of the problems were caused by old entertainment facilities, quality authorities explained.

Nearly half of the facilities in the city have been in operation for more than five years, according to the Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.