Dunhuang in NW China to Build New Tourism Economic Zone

The city of Dunhuang, renowned for the Buddhist art of the Mogao Grottos in northwest China's Gansu Province, has decided to build a new tourism economic zone by taking advantage of the country's current drive to develop its western region.

The new zone will be located at Yitang Lake, 20 km east of downtown Dunhuang and 15 km from the Mogao grottos, which was added to the World Heritage List in 1987.

The zone will cover an area of 5 square km, and the first phase of construction will cost 800 million yuan (96 million U.S. dollars).

The city government has stipulated preferential policies to attract domestic and overseas investment for the zone.

Some 530,000 Chinese and foreign tourists visited Dunhuang last year, and the city's income from tourism was 166 million yuan. The city is making an effort to open new scenic spots and attract visitors in numbers approaching one million by the year 2010.

Dunhuang was once an important town along the ancient Silk Road linking Central Asia with China. It has rich tourism resources and historical sites, including the Mogao Grottos, Mingsha Hill, and the Yueya (Crescent) Spring.

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