Tourism Becomes Xinjiang's Pillar Industry

Tourism has become one of the pillar industries in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after 20 years of development, said Nayimu Yasin, director of the regional tourism bureau.

With its unique landscape, plenty of cultural relics and folk custom, Xinjiang's tourism has developed rapidly in the last 20 years, he said.

Last year, Xinjiang attracted more than 220,000 overseas tourists and some seven million domestic visitors, earning over US$ 85 million in foreign exchange and 6 billion yuan (US$ 722 million).

In the next five years, Xinjiang will make efforts to promote tourism activities such as sightseeing to freshwater lakes, trekking along the ancient silk road and skiing on snowy mountains. Yasin expressed the hope that international air routes will be opened sooner between the regional capital Urumqi and Japan, Hong Kong and Europe.

The planned Urumqi-Zurich air route will make it easier for more European tourists to come directly to Xinjiang, he said. Xinjiang now has opened dozens of domestic air routes linking Urumqi to major Chinese cities and operated several special trains to the region.

Xinjiang has 160 star hotels offering good service and accommodations for both domestic and overseas tourists.

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