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Traveling, A New Choice for More Ordinary Chinese
Mr. Yang, a cultural worker in the landlocked province of Sichuan, southwest China, has traveled at least once or twice a year in recent years.
Yang, his wife and their daughter went to Jiuzhaigou, a scenic spot in Sichuan, and Yunnan Province last year, and they visited Beijing and Qingdao, a port city in east China's Shandong Province, this year.
Yang, in his early 30s, recalled that he had never been to the seashore before he became a university student, though his hometown in Shandong is only a little more than 100 kilometers away from the sea.
However, he said, "My five-year-old daughter has flown to the seaside twice."
Yang's father traveled for the first time a decade ago when he retired.
The experience of the Yang's only happened to a few average families in China in the past. The situation has changed greatly now.
A recent survey conducted in Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan, shows that more than 80 percent of the city's residents traveled in the past five years and over 60 percent expressed that they will go out sightseeing next year.
Statistics from the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Administration show that the province received nearly 20 million travelers last year.
Zhong Mian, director of the tourism administration, said that more ordinary Chinese will choose traveling during holidays and in their spare time, as their income keeps rising.
The number of domestic travelers is expected to reach 750 million this year and the tourism income to reach 330 billion yuan.
The World Tourism Organization predicted that China will become a country with the most developed tourism industry of the world in 20 years.
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