Shanxi Province Witnesses Rapid Growth in Tourist IndustryTourist industry has become a major contributor to the economic growth of north China's Shanxi Province, which boasts of abundant tourist resources.Latest statistics show that in the first half of this year, the province received over 62,000 tourists from abroad and over 16 million from other parts of China, realizing profits of 16 million US dollars and 4.6 billion yuan respectively. At the mention of Shanxi, people will come up with famous tourist resorts like the Yungang Grottoes, one of China's largest ancient group grottoes, and Wutai Mountains, one of the four most sacred mountains for Buddhists in China. The most outstanding is the ancient Pingyao city, which was included on the world heritage list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on December 3, 1997. In recent years, the Shanxi provincial government has made great efforts in developing the local tourist industry, including improving transportation, upgrading services and organizing a series of promotion activities. The recently concluded international tourist week, for an example, has attracted 100 million US dollars of foreign capital to the province's tourist sector. |
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