Shanghai's Pudong Becomes Major Tourist DestinationShanghai's Pudong, an emerging financial and trade zone set up in the early 1990s, has become a major tourist destination for overseas and domestic visitors.The latest official statistics indicate that more than 10 million tourists, including 241,000 from abroad, flocked to the zone in 2000, up 50 percent and 67 percent, respectively. The area earned more than 2.16 billion yuan (US$260 million) in total income in tourism last year, an increase of 33 percent over 1999. Tourism now contributes 2.36 percent to Pudong's GDP. A recent survey showed that both domestic and overseas tourists were lured by the sightseeing and shopping opportunities in Pudong that have come about in the past decade of development. The majority of the tourists said they were especially impressed by the high-rise buildings, parks, sea entertainment centers, and other unique buildings there. Local officials said that Pudong is expecting an even brighter future for tourism as a magnetically-levitated railway line and many other public utilities are established in the years to come. |
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