China's Greater Huangshan Area launches global tourism push

A group photo of representatives invited to share their stories of the Greater Huangshan Area at a promotion event. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Jun)

An event promoting the Greater Huangshan Area was held in Beijing on Aug. 23, aiming to showcase the region's expanded tourism offerings beyond its famed Huangshan Mountain.

Huangshan Mountain, also known as Yellow Mountain, is a UNESCO World Heritage site in east China's Anhui Province.

The event, co-hosted by the Culture and Tourism Department of Anhui Province and the Cyberspace Administration of Anhui, sought to build the Greater Huangshan Area into a global brand by integrating tourism resources from four cities: Huangshan, Chizhou, Anqing and Xuancheng.

The area features natural beauty, cultural heritage and ecological resources. Officials have outlined plans to develop the area's modern service industries, including tourism, wellness, creative arts, sports events and cultural services. This approach seeks to integrate primary, secondary and tertiary economic sectors.

Under the theme of "Greater Huangshan in Misty Rain, a Resting Place for the Spirit," representatives from different industries shared personal experiences to promote the area.

Among them were Li Peisheng and Hu Xiaochun, recognized as "Good Samaritans of China" for their efforts in maintaining the mountain and tending the Guest-Greeting Pine, a famous landmark on Huangshan Mountain. The award, initiated in 2008, honors grassroots heroes. Li and Hu invited visitors, saying, "We are waiting for you at the Greater Huangshan Area."

Wang Chunyan, another representative, who preserves the tradition of making fish-shaped lanterns in the Greater Huangshan Area, stated that she aims to promote the craft globally.

Other representatives included tourism professional Zhu Bin, foreign restaurateur Adrien Brill, Huangmei opera inheritor and China Theatre Association Vice President Han Zaifen, opera performers Wang Zexi and Wang Chenchen, Xuan paper craftsman Zhou Donghong, local resident Deng Xi, and Hu Shaoping, president of the area's culture and tourism development association.

The group pledged to promote Greater Huangshan through various media.