Inbound Travel up in the First Six Months

In the first six months of 1999 the growth of China's international tourism accelerated. According to the China National Tourism Administration, in the first six months of 1999 the number of inbound tourists and income of foreign exchange increased 14.95percent and 15.94 percent respectively over the same period of last year to reach 34.6864 million tourists and US$6.913 billion.

Of the 15 major source countries, except for Russia and Mongolia, which saw a decrease over the same period of last year, all the other 13 countries saw an increase to different degrees. Among them, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and France saw two digit increases. From January to June, tourists from Hong Kong and Macao amounted to 29.54 million, a 15.19 percent increase over the same period of last year; tourists from Taiwan amounted to 1.23 million, an increase of 19.52 percent.

The opening of China's tourism industry has been accelerated also this year. Australia and New Zealand have been listed as tourist destinations for Chinese citizens who travel on their own expense. Approved by the state Council, Japan has been made a destination for Chinese citizens who travel on their own expense. China has signed agreements on tourist cooperation with Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. In the latter half of this year, China plans to set up a number of Sino-foreign joint venture travel agencies and add a number of tourist destinations for Chinese citizens who travel on their own expenses.

Tourism Growth of Various Localities

Beijing
Beijing, the capital of China, has intensified its efforts in tourism promotion, and international tourism has developed rapidly. By the end of June, Beijing had received 1.05 million overseas tourists, an increase of 11.44 percent over the same period of last year. Except Africa, which saw a decrease of 5.79 percent in the number of tourists, tourists from Asia, America, Europe and Occeania increased 24.03 percent, 6.25 percent, 1.67 percent and 5.01 percent, respectively, over the same period of last year. Besides sightseeing tours, this year Beijing has also developed scientific and technological tours, modern industrial tours and modern agricultural tours.

Shanghai
Tourism departments in Shanghai exert great efforts in promotion abroad to develop European, American and Japanese source markets. As a result, its international tourism grew rapidly.

According to statistics of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Commission, in the first six months of 1999 Shanghai received 783,800 overseas tourists, an increase of 7.4 percent over the same period of last year. Among them there were 606,200 foreigners, an increase of 8.85 percent.

The increase in the number of inbound travel is, to a great extent, due to the recovery of Asian economy and gradual restoration of traditional source markets in Asia. In the first six months of this year, tourists from Southeast Asia increased 62.64 percent over the same period of last year. Among them, tourists from Thailand increased 80 percent; Indonesia, up 89.7 percent; and the Republic of Korea, up 66.48 percent.

France and Britain were the two countries which saw the greatest increase, at a rate of 10 percent or more; for the United States, the increase was nearly 4 percent.

Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang along the eastern coast of China has worked hard to develop the international market, and international tourism has seen rapid development. In the six months of this year Zhejiang received 440,700 overseas tourists, an increase of 29.4 percent over the same period of last year; foreign exchange income amounted to US$181 million, an increase of 25.6 percent. This year Zhejiang has offered four international tour routes, 17 new tourist programs and 12 tourist programs and 12 tourism festive events. During the China Ecotour'99, it has developed numerous tour products, such as river rafting, mountaineering and plum blossom appreciating, attracting streams of foreign tourists.

Shanxi Province
In the first six months of 1999, the number of overseas tourists to Shanxi Province in North China increased 47.9 percent over the same period of last year. Most of these tourists visited Shanxi's major tourist cities, such as provincial capital Taiyuan, Datong, Wutaishan, Linfen and Yuncheng. Pingyao, an ancient city in central Shanxi, was listed a World Cultural Heritage site by the UNESCO. It has become a new tourist attraction popular among tourists.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China has made tourism a pillar industry for development. The government has determined to make Guangxi an advanced region in tourism with destinct features, fine facilities and first-rate service. In the first half of 1999 Guangxi received 327,200 overseas tourists and earned US$5.5377 million, up 59.49 percent and 41.71 percent respectively over the same period of last year. The local tourism departments pay great attention to building up a good image and market promotion, and have straightened out tourist environment. They organized travel operators and journalists from Japan, Italy and Thailand to make an investigation tour in Guangxi.

The top ten provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the number of overseas tourists received:
(1) Guangdong: 3.9303 million overseas tourists, up 9.97 percent over the same period of last year;
(2) Beijing: 1.0504 million overseas tourists, up 12.16 percent;
(3) Shanghai: 783,800 overseas tourists, up 7.49 percent;
(4) Fujian: 704,900 overseas tourists, up 18.26 percent;
(5) Jiangsu: 605,700 overseas tourists, up 28.93 percent;
(6) Yunnan: 481,300 overseas tourists, up 55.07 percent;
(7) Zhejiang: 440,700 overseas tourists, up 29.39 percent;
(8) Guangxi:327,200 overseas tourists, up 57.71 percent;
(9) Shangdong: 279,600 overseas tourists, up 30.52 percent;
(10) Shaanxi: 239,200 overseas tourists, up 24.34 percent;

The top ten provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the number of foreign tourists received:
(1) Beijing: 845,900 foreign tourists;
(2)Guangdong: 694,900 foreign tourists;
(3) Shanghai: 606,200 foreign tourists;
(4) Jiangsu: 374,900 foreign tourists;
(5) Yunnan: 336,300 foreign tourists;
(6) Zhejiang: 233,700 foreign tourists;
(7) Shaanxi: 195,600 foreign tourists;
(8) Shangdong: 184,200 foreign tourists;
(9) Inner Mongolia: 171,800 foreign tourists;
(10) Fujian: 166,800 foreign tourists

Largest Cultural Relic Archive in China Completed

The Sumer Palace Cultural Relic Archive, the largest one throughout one throughout China, will be put in use on October 1, the National Day of China. About 40,000 pieces of cultural relics in this imperial garden will be moved into the new place for display and storage. Located on the eastern shore of Kunming Lake, the archive consists of two stories, one on the ground and the other underground with a floor space of more than 7,000 square meters. The whole architectural complex is built with modern materials, but represents the typical architectural style in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

The old cultural relic archive constructed in the Qing Dynasty failed to meet the demand of safe protection. All the cultural relics in the Summer Palace date from the 17th century B.C. to the early 20th century. The Summer Palace Administration Office has finished constructing this modern structure at expensive cost. The new archive functions well in keeping constant temperature and constant humidity. After it opens to the public, the cultural relics are on display in different halls on the ground floor in line with the categories they belong to, and will be well protected with proper measures.

Touring Ancient Capital City of Xi'an

Xi'an was known as Chang'an in ancient times, and it is one of the seven ancient capital cities in the Chinese history. The city is surrounded by steep mountains and strategic passes, forming a natural defense for the city. The Wei River valley is flat with fertile farm lands. With favorable natural conditions, Xi'an become an early human inhabited area. Its history can be traced back to the 11th century B.C., And eleven dynasties established their capital here. In the Western Han Dynasty(206 B.C.-24 A.D.), Xi'an became the start point of the Silk Road. The city reached its peak of prosperity in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), becoming a center of Sino-foreign economic and cultural exchanges.

Xi'an represents the ancient civilization of China. The most well known historical sites in the city proper include the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, ancient city wall, the Tablet Forest, the Shaanxi Museum of history and a grand mosque.

The Xi'an city wall is the best preserved and complete city wall in China. With a total length of 11.9 kilometers, a height of 12 meters and 15 meters wide on top, the present city wall was renovated about 600 years ago in the Ming Dynasty. The bricks of the wall are still very strong, and people can ride bicycles or do exercise on the wall. Renovations have been carried since 1983, and a park was built surrounding the city wall. Tourists can now climb up to the wall to take an overall view of the city.

The Shaanxi Province Museum and Tablet Forest are in the southern part of the city. The museum is composed of three parts: historical exhibits, stone cavings and the tablet forest. More than 2,600 historical objects of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1066-771 B.C.), the Warring States Period (475-221) B.C.) are on display there. The Stone Forest contains some 2,300 tablets dating from the 2nd century B.C. to the early 20th century, and they are considered as a library of stone.

The Xi'an Mosque, also known as the Big Mosque, is in Huajue Alley to the northwest of the Drum Tower in the city proper. It is the biggest and best preserved mosque in Xi'an.

Besides these historical sites, four travel itineraries are arranged to reach other historical and cultural attractions in the suburbs.

The east itinerary includes Ban'po remains, Huaqing Hot Spring, Lishan Mountain, the Qinshihuang Mausoleum and the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum and Huashan Mountain.

The Qinshahuang Mausoleum and the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum and Huashan Mountain.

The Qinshihuang Mausoleum and the Terra Cotta Warriors are known as the Eighth Wonder in the world. The Huaqing Hot Spring is at the foot of Lishan Mountain about 30 kilometers to the east of Xi'an city proper. Dense trees grow on the mountain, and there are hot springs, causing a mild climate all year round. Many Chinese emperor in Chinese feudal society. After 1949, some buildings have become tourist attractions.

Huashan Mountain in the Huayin County in the eastern suburb of Xi'an is one of the five famous mountain of China. It is 2,100 meters above sea level and is known for its steep mountain paths. Along the route, there are many temples and pavilions of historical importance.

The east itinerary is about 400 kilometers long, passing through seven counties and cities and includes a dozen historical sites and scenic spots.

The west itinerary includes the Xianyang Museum, the Zhao Tomb, the Dafo Temple, the Qian Tomb, the Famen Temple and Tomb of Imperial Concubine Yang.

The Zhao Tomb is the burial site of Li Shimin (627-650), Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. He initiated the Chinese tradition of building tombs on mountain sides, and six stone horses have been unearthed near the mausoleum. The burial ground includes over 200 secondary graves of his high officials and generals. In the Zhao Tomb Museum, there are 45 memorial stone tablets and 15 stone inscriptions, which are rare materials for research on the Chinese history. A secondary grave of the Qian Tomb was excavated in 1960 and some glorious were found on the walls of the tunnel to the burial chamber.

The west itinerary is about 300 kilometers, and tourists can take a look at historical remains, imperial palaces, ancient tombs and some old cultural relics.

In the southern itinerary there are the Site of Lantian Man, the Shuilu Nunnery, Xingjiao Temple , Xingji Temple, Louguantai Taoist Temple and Caotang Temple.

The Shuilu Nunnery is in Lantian County about 50 kilometers to the southwest of Xi'an. It was first built in the Six Dynasties period from the 3rd to the 6th century. There are over 3,700 colored clay sculptures in the main hall with refined paintings, reflecting the glamour of the Chinese religious culture.

The southern route spreads in the suburbs in a curing shape, encircling a quiet environment. They are good places for vacation.

The northern itineraty includes the site of the Daming Palace of the Tang Dynasty, remains of Chang'an City of the Han Dynasty, Tomb of the Yellow Emperor and Yan'an. The route is 300 kilometers long.

The Daming Palace, formerly known as the Yongle Palace, was built by Emperor Taizong (LI Shimin) of the Tang Dynasty in 634 for his father as a summer resort. It covered 12 square kilometers, and was later used by Tang emperors to handle state affairs and hold important ceremonies. The palace was destroyed in 904 in a war. The remains of the palace is now a key national protected cultural site.

The Tomb of the Yellow Emperor is in Huangling County about 200 kilometers to the north of Xi'an.

Yan'an, a cradle of the Chinese revolution, is in the northern part of the Shaanbei Plateau. It was the headquarters of the Chinese Communists Party from 1937 to 1947. Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, the top leaders of the Communist Party at that time, lived there, and there are many historical relics and museums, making it a good place to learn about the history of the Chinese revolution.

Italian Folklore Resort

Collaborating with Italy, the Tianjin municipal government plans to develop Hebei District into a resort of Italian folklore. It will combine commerce and trade with tourism. In its 100,000 square meters, the buildings will feature typical architectural style of Italy.

Tianjin, a major industrial city in North China, has preserved many buildings of different architectural designs of foreign countries, and been eulogized as the "Universal Architecture Fair."

With its opening to the outside world, Tianjin has paid much attention to developing local feature resources and decided to develop the Italian architectural complex, which has been well kept and is the only one of its kind in China, into the Italian Folklore Resort. The construction began with renovating the ancient buildings which have preservation value. Meanwhile, more new scenic spots will be added to the resort, including typical Italian streets, gardens, squares and sculptures.

Hong Kong Sells Show Tickets over Net

The computer network of URBTIX in Hong Kong offers a new service to overseas tourists. They can use their personal credit cards to book tickets for various performances before they arrive in Hong Kong.

From 10:00 to 20:00 local time, overseas tourists can call the hotline(852-27349011) of the URBTIX for reservation of tickets of theatrical performances the computer network is selling. The computer will fax the ticket reservation form to the customer to confirm the reservation and acknowledge payment (VISA and Master are accepted). Overseas customers have to fax back the filled from. After receiving the form from the customers, the network will fax them the certificate for getting the tickets and a sketch map marked with the location of the performance. They can get their tickets on arrival in Hong Kong with the certificate. The service charge is HK $20. The service provided by the computer network will be available the day after the tickets for performances are sold to the public. However, the network can only hold the tickets sold to overseas customers for three days.

Dalian-Hong Kong-Macao Tourism Train Launched

According to Dalian Daily, the special train from Dalian to Hong Kong and Macao has gone into operation.

This special tourist train departs from Dalian and goes along the Beijing-Kowloon Railway. Before arriving in Shenzhen, passengers will enjoy the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Beijing-Kowloon line. In Shenzhen, the train is pulled by an electric locomotive before entering Hong Kong and then Macao. The single trip train ticket is 3,980 yuan of adults and 2,980 yuan for children between six and 11 years old. The cost of train ticket covers the accommodation in Hong Kong for three days, food and travel expenses for two days in Hong Kong, accommodation, food, and travel expenses one day in Macao, and the passenger's life insurance of the whole trip as well. Because of the reasonable fair and other benefits, the tourist train is more appealing to ordinary salary earners. More than 400 ordinary citizens took the first tourist train for sightseeing in Hong Kong and Macao.