Mount Emei and Jiuzhaigou Join Hands

The two best-known tourism areas in Sichuan Province--Mountain Emei and the Jiuzhaigou Tourism Area have reached a partnership agreement to develop tourism together in the 21st century.

Mount Emei is known for its beautiful landscape and Buddhist culture, while Jiuzhaigou gets its fame from its unique natural scenery. With different characteristics, they represent the different geographical regions of northern and southern Sichuan.

The two sides have reached an agreement to form a joint conference system, build a Mount Emei-Jiuzhaigou Information Highway, develop domestic and international markets together, and to jointly make plans for tourism promotion activities.

Recreational Fishing

The Zhejiang provincial government intends to develop recreational fishing in the province. The province hosted the Jiaojiang International Fishing Festival in the early 1990s and the First Fishing Festival in Dongtou County in 1997.

Some recreational fishing projects that can be participated in by tourists have been added in recent years in Zhejiang, such as the Thousand People Netting Fish activity at Qiandao Lake. Similar activities were also held at Siming Lake and Taohua (Peach Flower) Island.

On the Zhujiajian Island Folklore Tour, tourists wear fishermen's trousers and sail their boats on the lake to collect shells and net fish and shrimps. On the Chengsilie Island One-Day Fisherman's Tour, travelers can learn to paddle bamboo boats, fish in the sea and pull fishing nets like real fishermen.

The Zhejiang provincial government has formulated a detailed development plan for recreational fishing until 2010, and special projects have been set up for the Chengsi Tourism Area, the Putou Triangle Tourism Area, the Mount Dai Tourism Area. Other tourism facilities and projects are under consideration.

Geologists Call to Rescue Hukou Waterfall

According to experts' investigations and analyses, the Hukou Waterfall, the only yellow waterfall on earth, located on the Yellow River, will shrink to a 10-meter rapids in the next 50 years if nothing is done to rescue it, and its fantastic natural scenery will be gone forever.

The Hukou Waterfall is on the border between Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. There are scenic spots such the waterfall view, the "thousand-meter trend" and Mengmen Island.

According to historical records, the waterfall has retreated by more than 3,000 meters cm. The drop is becoming smaller and less sharply. Some cascades have already disappeared. If it is not effectively rescued, the Hukou Waterfall will vanish completely in the next 100 years.

Local officials says that Hukou Waterfall is not only a local scenic spot, but also a symbol of Chinese culture, and they will contribute their efforts to protect it.

Nanjing Underground Historical Relics Get Better Protection

To protect underground cultural relics from urban construction, the Nanjing Municipal Government has designated seven key underground cultural relics protection areas and forbidden urban construction projects to encroach on archaeological sites.

Nanjing, a famous historical and cultural city, has a large number of historical relics are buried underground especially those those of pre-history, the Six Dynasties (1368-1644). However, with large-scale city construction, many underground cultural relics have been destroyed.

The seven key underground historical relics protection areas are the Mount Tangshan and Xue City Ruins, the Six Dynasties, Southern Tang Dynasty and Ming Dynasties Palace City and Imperial Way Ruins Area, the Ten-Dynasties Remains along the Qinghuai River, the Mausoleum Area of the Six Dynasties, the Ancient Tombs Area on Mount Mufu, the Rainflower Terrace, Tiexin Bridge and Xishan Bridge together with the Tombs Area of the Ming Dynasty Founders.

Sightseeing on Helicopter

Tonglu Helidrome, the first general-purpose helidrome in China, has gone into operation. Tourists cannow tour the Tonglu Scenic Area by Chinese-made Zhi-9 helicopters.

Tonglu Helidrome was constructed in accordance with both international civil aviation organization and CAAC technological standards and specifications. It covers 46,000 square meters. With the opening of the airport, touring the Fuchun River Tourist Area by air is now possible.

New Bridge Arras the Yangtze

The Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge, the fourth-longest in the world and the longest in China, has been officially opened to traffic. It has become not only an important hub of communication for northern and southern Jiangsu Province but also a new scenic spot.

Jiangyin City, located in southern Jiangsu, has a history of 2,500 years. With the construction of the Yangtze River Bridge, Jiangyin now has five featured tourism resorts: the Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge and the Yangtze River Sightseeing Area, the Ancient Fort Tourism Resort, Huaxi and Xiangyang Villages Rural Landscape Tourism Area, Township Industry Investigation Area and City Night Scenery Tourism Area.

With an area of 24 hectares, Ebizui Park is the best place for viewing the magnificent bridge and the vast Yangtze River. Every day, the park is crowded with as many as 2,000 visitors. The High-Altitude Sightseeing Tower, build at a cost of 10 million yuan, the "Yangtze River World" palace steamer, which cost 30 million yuan, and two double-decker tourist coaches offer fine conditions for tourists to enjoy the grand view of the bridge.