Special Discount for Silk Road Tours in Winter and Early Spring

Gansu Province in northwestern China is offering special discounts for Silk Road tours this winter and early spring next year.

The Gansu Provincial Tourism Administration has decided that this special discount is valid from November 1, 1999 to April 20, 2000. During this period, the price of hotel rooms and entrance fees to scenic spots will be discounted by 20 to 50 percent.

The province has developed three routes for the Silk Road Tour. The western route covers historical sites along the Hexi Corridor and desert scenery. The eastern route focuses on culture and civilization along the upper reaches of the Yellow River, pilgrimages to sacred places and searching for ancestors, and the southern route features folklore of the Hui and Tibetan ethnic groups and the landscape of the grasslands.

The province's beautiful natural scenery, cultural and historical sites, and unique local folklore have become more fascinating to tourists from facilities used to fail to meet the demands of the increasing numbers of visitors who came mainly in July, August and September.

So the local tourism departments packages for the winter and early spring. The routes of new tours are as follows:

1. Five-day Lanzhou-Jiayuguan-Dunhuang-Xi'an or Urumqi tour by train and plane. Tourists taking this route will climb the gate tower of Jiayuguan, the western end of the Great Wall, before visiting the Mogao grottoes at Dunhuang, the Mingsha (singing-sand) dunes and Yueya ( Crescent Moon)

2. Four or five day Lanzhou-Dunhuang-Xi'an tour by plane and bus. Tourist will see the world's largest reclining Buddha in the Grand Buddha Temple at Zhangye, and the excavation site at Wuwei where the bronze galloping horse that serves as the emblem of tourism in China was unearthed.

3. Three-day Lanzhou-Tianshui-Xi'an tour by plane and train. Tourists will visit the famous Maijishan Grottoes, and learn about local folklore related to the Yellow River in the Lanzhou area. During this slack season, the province has decided to use chartered planes for the convenience of tourists. There are three flights a week from Xi'an to Lanzhou and on to Dunhuang on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The plane leaves Xi'an at 10:55 and Lanzhou at 12:35, and arrives at Dunhuang at 14:25. The same plane returns to Xi'an from Dunhuang at 15:05.

Gansu also plans to hold activities to celeberate the new millennium to make the tours in winter and early spring more interesting.

1. Watching the last sunset and first sunrise. Visitors will be able to watch the last sunset of the 20th century and the first sunrise of the new century from the gate tower at Jiayuguan, the Mingsha Dunes and the Yumen Pass.

2. Grand sacrificial rites held at Labrang Monastery on February 17, 2000 (usually in the first lunar month). On the day of the sacrificial rites, the giant Buddha tapestry will be put on display, and lamas will chant scriptures to pray for peace in the 21st century.

Hong Kong to Hold Arts Festival for New Millennium

The 28th Hong Kong Arts Festival will begin February 16, 2000. The China National Symphone Orchestra, the most prestigious orchestra in the PRC, will perform along with three internationally renowned soloists. The Beijing Opera Troupe and Xinjiang Mukam Art Ensemble will also perform at the festival.

Organizers hope the festival will act as a catalyst and promote the arts in Hong Kong. With the opening of major cultural centers in Shanghai, Macao and other cities, the festival will play an integral role in connecting artists with mainland presenters.

Events will be held at venues throughout the city, including the new Kwai Tsing Theater. Because over the past three years more and more people have been attending the festival, organizers have arranged 112,000 seats for the 133 performances.

This year's festival will feature, for the first time in 12 years, two large-scale operas. They are two of the most important Czech operas, Janacek's Jenufa and Dvorak's Rusalka, performed by the internationally renowned 240-member opera, orchestra and chorus of the Prague National Theater. Other highlights include the spectacular Andalusian opera Carmen, the dramatic ballet Edward II, the controversial dance A Little Something Set to Bach, and more.

The festival not only promotes the arts in Hong Kong, but also helps artists create projects that otherwise could not have produced on their own. This year, Walking with Wings featuring Taiwan singer Tsai Chin, Hong Kong singer/musician Anthoy Wong, and director/choreographer Edwin Lung, will be shown at the festival.

The 2000 Hong Kong arts Festival will be held from February 11 to March 12. Program details can be found in the 200 Arts Festival Program and Booking Guide and on the festival web site: www.hk.artsfestival.org.

Patrons can book by post, fax, and Internet. Our fax booking hotline 2802-8160 runs 24 hours daily for your convenience. Counter booking opens from December 11, 1999 and student tickets are available for counter booking from December 18, 1999 onwards.

Two-day Tour to Famous Caves, Temples and Grottoes

Zhejiang Province offers a two-day tour to famous caves, temples and grottoes in four scenic areas-Daciyan in Jiande, Lingqi Cave, Zhuge Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Village in Lanxi, and Longyou Grottoes.

The four scenic areas are linked by national highways 320 and 330. It takes no more than 30 minutes to go from one scenic area to another.

Zhuge Bagua Village is the place where the descendants of Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms (220-265) Live. The Lingqi Cave feature natural scenery, and Daciyan is a place sacred to Buddhism and famous for its picturesque landscape. The Longyou Grottoes, an ancient architectural complex underground, embodies rich connotations of culture and history.

Indoor Skiing Center

Working is due to start on the Alps indoor skiing center at the Window to the World in Shenzhen.

The skiing center will be located between the sculpture square and Asian area in the scenic area of the Window to the World amusement park. The center will cover 2,400 square meters are for skiing and snow recreation areas which are 10 degrees centigrade below zero.

The center will feature Alpine ski slopes and northern European folklore.

Visitors can take a cablecar to the summit of the 10 meters high and 100 meters long ski slope. They can also make snowmen, snow balls and enjoy playing snow games.

Xi'an to Receive 550,000 overseas Tourists

In 1999, Xi'an citizens knew more tourists were pouring into their town. Statistics from municipal tourist department say that from January to September last year, the city received 396,000 overseas tourists and 10.18 million. From these visitors, the city has earned more than 7 billion yuan.

Visitors are attracted by Xi'an's archaeological treasures including the terra cotta warriors and emperor's mausoleums. At the same time Xi'an has developed many new tourist activity including New Year's bell-knocking. Buddhist happiness ceremony at Daci'en Temple, planting trees on Cuihua Mountain, Heihe River Source Exploration Tour, participation in an ancient city entrance ceremony, Huxian's Farmer Painting Tour, Janpanese Envoy to Tang Dynasty Tour, Commemorating Monk Xuan Zhuang Pilgrimage Tour, City Wall International Marathon Race, and Morning Bell and Evening Drum Tour.

Some predict that the city will receive more than 555,000 overseas tourists and more than 12 million domestic tourist in 1999.

Tea Culture Scenic Spot

A new scenic spot, Yang Family Tea City, has formally opened to tourists in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, integrating tea culture with sight-seeing.

Yueyang is a renowned tea-plantation area, and the local Yang family has long engaged in the tea trade. Yang Family Tea City has combined commodity sales into his tea culture tourism program. The interior decorations of the tea house are in Ming and Qing dynasties style. There is a tea tasting section, where operas and storytelling are performed.