Jincheng to host winter tourism festival

Shanxi province's Jincheng city is going to hold a "Warm Winter Tourism Festival" to boost the local tourism industry.

The city plans to boost tourism in winter, usually an off-peak season, by taking advantage of its unique and rich tourist resources.

Promotion policies, such as discounts or exemption of admission fees, will be offered at Jincheng's tourism attractions to tourists and local citizens during the period, said Liang Hongbing, chief of the tourism and cultural heritage department of the city.

Liang made the comments on Thursday at a news conference in Taiyang, the capital of Shanxi.

Several carefully designed itineraries are also being planned for tourists by the tourism department.

According to Liang, boosting winter tourism is important to reduce seasonal unemployment and make use of idle tourism resources.

The festival, which will run from Dec 1 to March 15, will have five programs.

The programs include winter traveling and the Ice Cascade Festival in the 50-km long Phoenix Valley, skiing, and other snow-related programs such as enjoying the view from the top of the Taihang Mountain, and spending the Spring Festival with local people near the famous Huangcheng Xiangfu, or Royal Prime Minister's palace.