China is contemplating the construction of a greater tourism-based
economic sphere around the
Three Gorges on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, the country's
longest river.
Gu
Chaoxi, deputy director of the China National Tourism
Administration, said the planned sphere will cover the scenic sites
in Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing Municipality.
The area will offer more tourism routes, he said.
A
task force has been put in place by organizations including the
National Tourism Administration and the Yangtze River Three Gorges
Project Construction Committee of the State Council to workout the
details for exploring tourism in areas around the Three Gorges and
the Three Gorges Project that will be the world's largest water
control facility.
It
is the first time in China that a regional tourism development
program is being planned at state level.
Lu
Bin, a specialist on the task force and a professor at Peking
University, said, "After the Three Gorges reservoir begins to store
water early this June, the center of the Three Gorges tourism
economy will naturally move eastward, with the dam as the main
attraction."
In
the past, Three Gorges tourism had been concentrated in Hubei
Province and Chongqing Municipality, from which the mighty Yangtze
River flows east to the sea. Kuimen, Baidi Town and Mount Shennu at
Wuxia Gorge have been the most visited.
According to experts on the task force, the Three Gorges Dam,
Xiling Gorge downstream and Gezhouba Dam will be the main spots for
the development of tourism around the Three Gorges region.
The provinces involved have been preparing for exploiting tourism
resources. Over the past two years, Hubei Province has spent 200
million yuan (US$24.1 million) on improving its tourism
infrastructure, transport conditions and ecological
environment.
Yichang City of Hubei, the city nearest to the Three Gorges Project
and the main venue of a series of activities designed to mark World
Travel Day this year, will use US$40 million of overseas capital to
construct 24 new major tourism programs.
(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2003)