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"Forest Tourism", a New Bright Spot in Xinjiang's Tourism Industry
For decades, the Jimsar lumber mill in the autonomous region-level forests of Tian Shan Mountains used to cut trees down. At its peak, it felled 24,000 cubic meters of trees. The head of the mill, Liu Shaojun said, after completing the public works project to protect the forest, the lumber mill gradually decreased the volume of trees it cut every year and began developing tourism as its primary industry. A total of 300,000 tourists have visited the park.
In the past two years, nearly half of the employees in the forest have switched jobs to the tourism industry. In 1999, the average annual income of a employee at the park exceeded 10,000 yuan, more than the total income of all forestry industry employees. This year, companies raised more than 2.5 million yuan to build and repair European-style two-story and three-story villas at the Weihugou scenic spot, which opened for business June 25. Its 220 beds have been booked full every day. In another scenic spot of the park, an ancient-style resort Zongchuan Park is being constructed. A launch pad and ski slope are also planned for the forest.
Today, logging is no longer the forest's major economic source. This year, the volume of trees Jimsar forest will cut has dropped to 1,000 cubic meters. The revenue derived from logging has fallen far behind tourism "Forest tourism" has become the forest's main industry.
The volume of trees cut in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will be 70% less than last year. There have been 40 forest parks built in the state owned forests of Xinjiang. The business area covers 300,000 metric tons, becoming Xinjiang tourism industry's new bright spot. Xinjiang has developed the economic belt along the north slope of Tianshan mountains and already set up nine forest parks.
Xinjiang has already made the development of the tourism industry its top priority. Xinjiang's forestry department has decided to make "forest tourism" the area's mainstay industry in the 21st century.
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