Shaanxi highlights its natural attractions

Xi'an had been the capital of 13 dynasties in history. It has one of the best-preserved city walls in China.[Photo/Xinhua]

According to the Shaanxi Tourism Bureau, a new flight from Hangzhou to Paris via Xi'an, will be available from Sept 3, 2014.

The flight, launched by Hainan Airlines, will leave Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, every Wednesday and Saturday. It is then scheduled to stop at the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport en route to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

At present, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport has 22 international routes to 12 countries and regions, including the Xi'an to Moscow route that was launched on July 1, said Yang Zhongwu, head of the Shaanxi Tourism Bureau.

The local government is also expected to help launch new flight routes between Xi'an and Central Asian countries in the future, to help realize Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal of a Silk Road economic belt, which he put forward last year during his visit to Central Asia, Yang said.

The Silk Road economic belt includes China and Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and stretches all the way to Europe.

There is beautiful natural scenery and abundant cultural resources on the ancient trade route, which offer cities, such as Xi'an, a great chance to develop their tourism industries, Yang said.

Shaanxi's tourism industry has already made progress over the past two years.

In the first six months of 2014, 1.05 million foreign tourists traveled to Shaanxi, an increase of 3 percent on the same period last year.

"In recent years, economic growth has slowed globally, but the number of foreign tourists to Shaanxi continues growing," Yang said. "It proves that Shaanxi is an attractive and important destination for foreign travelers."

In 2013, there were a total of 270 newly built and on-going tourism projects in Shaanxi, representing investment of 33 billion yuan ($5.5 billion), an increase of 48.9 percent compared to the previous year.

The rapid development of tourism has created 80,000 new jobs, which are mainly in sectors such as rural tourism, tourism products, renowned scenic spots, hotels and travel agencies.

Rich resources

Shaanxi is a province with a long history and rich culture background, and it possesses various tourist routes and more than 10,000 scenic spots and places of historical interest, Yang said.

As the capital of 13 dynasties, including the powerful Han (206 BC-AD 221) and Tang (618-907), Shaanxi has world-class attractions such as the Terracotta Warriors, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Famen Temple.

In the first half of 2014, eight national 4A-class scenic spots were added to Shaanxi. The province now has five 5A-class and 56 4A-class scenic sites.

In addition, Shaanxi was also an important base for the Communist Party of China in the last century, which has helped boost the local "red tourism" industry.

According to the local government, in 2013, the number of tourists visiting Shaanxi's "red tour" sites reached 87.3 million, up 22.9 percent from the year before. And the red tours generated 63.5 billion yuan in revenue, up 25 percent from the previous year.

World heritage

Today, Shaanxi, as the starting point of the Silk Road, has a new selling point after part of the ancient trade route was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list on June, 2014, Yang said.

According to the government, a total of 22 sites along the Silk Road have been listed as the world heritage, and seven of them are located in Shaanxi, China.

"We have been trying to construct a tourism corridor on the Silk Road, with an emphasis on Xi'an," Yang said.

On Sept 19 to 21, the China Xi'an Silk Road International Tourism Expo 2014, the first of its kind, will be held in Xi'an.

According to the expo organizer, 500 exhibitors from 30 countries and 25 provinces and regions in China are expected to participate in the event, which will serve as a platform for Chinese and foreign tourism professionals and enterprises to communicate and seek cooperation with each other, an official of the organizing committee said.

Crucial industry

According to the local government, tourism accounted for 13.3 percent of Shaanxi's total GDP in 2013, an increase of 1.45 percent compared with the previous year.

The development of the tourism industry has had a positive influence on province's economic upgrading, Yang said.

For instance, the Shaanxi tourism bureau has implemented the Qinling Mountains tourism program in recent years, which aims to build the region into a tourism hotspot that features a great ecological environment, unique cultural experiences and a leisure lifestyle.

Six cities and one district around the Qinling Mountains have participated in the program.

The total investment of the program is 12 billion yuan, with 110 projects related to tourist product development and infrastructure construction, Yang said.

In addition to the Qinling Mountains, many new tourism spots have opened to public in 2014, including the Zhouzhi Shahe Wetland Park and the Taibai Mountain Yijing Hot Spring Resort.

Three newly built five-star hotels have also been approved in the first half of this year, which symbolizes the local tourism has entered a new era, according to Yang.

Shaanxi's tourism industry is becoming more diverse, which consists of sightseeing and leisure vacations, Yang said.

Promotions

To promote Shaanxi's image on the global stage, the Shaanxi provincial government has organized a series of events and advertised in foreign markets.

On May 19, 2014, the local tourism bureau invited scholars and celebrities from home and abroad to Shaanxi to hold a dialogue on the topic of Silk Road culture, which attracted more than 40 media outlets to report the event.

In addition, the Shaanxi government has arranged for officials to participate in international tourism shows every year. So far, representatives have been to countries such as the United States and South Korea to promote local tourism.

The Shaanxi government is also using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to communicate with tourists from all over the world.

Yang said the government plans to add 25 million yuan in the next few years to a tourism fund in the future.

The tourism bureau has been training more tourism professionals and experienced tour guides to meet increasing market demand, Yang said.

"We are also focusing on developing new information technologies for the industry, including online services, such as online booking and online payments," he said.

"With all the resources and advantages we have, I am very confident about the future of Shaanxi's tourism industry," he added.