China to Hold Three Gorges Int'l Tourism FestivalChina will hold the Yangtze Three Gorges International Tourism Festival in central China's Hubei Province from September 30 to October 30.The international tourism festival, sponsored by the National Tourism Administration and the Hubei Provincial People's Government, will be the first of its kind ever held in Yichang City where the Three Gorges Project is under construction. Yichang City plans to attract both domestic and overseas tourists with numerous tourist activities. "The international tourism festival is designed to show a new Three Gorges to tourists from at home and abroad," said Zhang Hongxiang, vice-governor of Hubei Province, at a press conference held on May18. Located at the junction of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Yichang boasts some 340 tourist attractions which include both scenic spots and ancient cultural sites. The city received over five million visitors last year, with a revenue of 3.1 billion yuan (about 374 million U.S. dollars). "Tourism is becoming a new developing economy in the Three Gorges area," said Wang Zhenyou, mayor of Yichang. The designs of the Three Gorges and the dam of the Three Gorges project make up the crest of the international tourism festival. And the image of Chinese Sturgeon, known as the "aquatic giant panda," will be the mascot for it. Some one million tourists are expected to visit Yichang during the month-long festival. |
| Please visit People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |