Revitalization of the Sino-Vietnamese Border as a Tourist Area

After the last mines were removed along the Sino-Vietnamese Border in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region the travel industry has taken off.

At one time, the Friendship Pass, Detian Falls and the Little Guilin in Jingxi were were all famous tourist attractions. But border clashes in the 1970s made the area a warzone. Then no tourist dared risk their life to visit tourist spots.

In the end of 1994, the fulfillment of the mine-removing assignment enabled some trading ports and passageways for the first time to restore normal economic activities along the border.

In July 1997, the Chinese government decided to launch another mine-removing campaign, demanding that all mines be gotten rid of by the end of 1999. The task was finished four months ahead of schedule last August. More than 400,000 mines were removed and more than 132 hidden locations were cleaned out. The removal of these mines has resulted in new opportunities of economic reform and development to the border area, and added new vitality to tourism industry as well.

A highway from Nanning to Detian Falls through Jingxi and Daxin opened to traffic, and the Guangxi Tourism departments are making great efforts to appropriate more funds for opening more tourist routes.

Already there is evidence to the advances towards revitalizing the Sino-Vietnamese border area. Since the peak tourism point of this year, this area receives several thousand tourists each day.

The Palace Museum's 50 Years of Selected Cultural Relics Exhibition

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, 50 Years of Selected Cultural Relics Exhibition was held recently in the Palace Museum.

Over the past 50 years, the museum has collected 240,000 pieces of cultural relics. More than 400 pieces on display best embody the achievements the museum has made in its collection.

The exhibits falls into the following categories:

The main exhibition hall in Fengxian Hall: Part 1: Pottery and porcelain; Part 2: Bronzes; Part 3: Sculptures; Part 4: Jade articles; Part 5: Bamboo, wooden, ivory and horn carvings, and four treasures of study; Part 6: Gold and silver ware, lacquerwork, enamels, embroidery and furniture.

The branch exhibition hall in the Western Baohe Hall: Part 7: Paintings; Part 8: Calligraphy and rubbings from stone inscriptions.

Some exhibits in the Fengxian Hall will be on display for four months, from October 8, 1999 to January 8, 2000.

Paintings and calligraphy on display in the western Baohe Hall lasts 40 days, from October 8 to November 17, 1999.

Revolutionary Base Shows Its Charm

Jiangxi's Jinggangshan City, a tourist destination and a revolutionary tradition education base, attracts a large number of tourists.

Jinggangshan City has greatly developed its tourism industry based on its natural tourism resources. From May 1 to 3, 1999, 30,000 domestic and overseas tourists visited the city, Jinggangshan City is located in southern Jiangxi Province. Jinggang Mountain, with a circumference of 250 kilometers, has 12 peaks more than 1,000 meters above sea level.

Jinggangshan is known as a cradle of China's revolution. In the late 1920s and 1930s, guerrilla forces of workers and farmers were known at home and abroad to fight against the Kuomintang. Over many years, the city had received 20,000 foreign strategists, military officers and military researchers from 130 countries and regions researching the history of the Jinggangshan guerrilla wars.

Scenic Areas In Beijing to Be Evaluated

According to a report released by Beijing Tourism Administration and Beijing Tourism Industry Association, evaluation and categorization for Beijing's scenic areas would provide more benefits to tourists. Visitors to Beijing will be able to distinguish between those scenic areas that have good service and facilities and those that do not and thus enabling them to select the best sites and avoid the bad ones.

The evaluation covers the number satisfied and dissatisfied tourists, environmental hygiene, transportation safety, order in scenic spots, service quality, management and other related indexes. In fact, the evaluation is part subjective and part objective since the evaluation will express the opinions of both tourists and tourism personnel. The results of these evaluations are to be released every three months though different media in the Beijing area.

Suzhou Transforms Its Panmen Tourist Area

Located in southwestern Suzhou, the Panmen area has taken on a new look recently. In the area are the renowned "Panmen Three Scenes": the Panmen Gatetower, the only water gate in China, the Wumen Bridge over the Grand Canal, and the Ruiguang Temple Pagoda that are linked up ingeniously by the surging flow of the Grand Canal.

Suzhou invested 330 million yuan this year in landscaping the area. Now it is the largest classical garden area of the city.

Covering an area of 170,000 square meters, the tourist area features such scenic spots as the Ming-and Qing Market, Lingrui Garden and City Wall Park, and other buildings bordering the Canal. Among the buildings are tree-shaded islets and mounds. In the area more than 30 scenic spots will be restored according to historical records. A local official said that the Panmen Tourist Area will be built into a unique classical garden area of southern China.

A Ancient Porcelain Kiln Discovered

An ancient porcelain kiln for wine vessels has been discovered in the city of Luzhou in Sichuan Province.

The city is well known for the producing of Luzhou Laojiao and Lang liquors. Previous to the latest find, the production of local liquors was thought to have started only in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

The kiln is in Yinggoutou at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain in the city proper. Of the hundreds of ceramics unearthed there, most are wine vessels of exquisite workmanship. A large number date from the late Tang Dynasty(618-907).