Qinhuangdao, a coastal city in North China's Hebei Province, has outlined plans to become the country's "Great Wall Seaside Park" in the years to come, said Mayor Jian Ruiting at the launching ceremony of the Second Online Tour to Hebei July 18, 2004.
Jian said the city is rich in tourism resources. Qinhuangdao has 35 tourist spots including 10 with 4A certificates. In 2002, as many as 8.01 million tourists, among them 141,600 were foreigners, visited the city, bringing in US$67.21 million in tourism revenues.
The city has a coastal line of 126.4 kilometers and a 245-kilometer-long Great Wall snakes across the city.
The mayor said Qinhuangdao will give a boost to the existing tourist stretches within 50 kilometers around the city. The three tourist stretches are the coastal area, historical and cultural area and mountainous sightseeing area.
The coastal area has a stretch of 126.4 kilometers, including the Old Dragon's Head (Laolongtou) where the Great Wall meets the sea, Qinhuangdao Port, beaches in Beidaihe and Nandaihe. In order to attract more tourists, the city government will build a hot spring vacation resort and a five-star hotel in the Summer Resort Beidaihe.
The historical and cultural stretch covers the ancient city walls, the site of Qinshihuang (China's first emperor who unified the country in the Qin Dynasty) Palace, parts of the Great Wall in Jiaoshan and Dongjiakou.
The mountainous area embraces the Longevity Hill, Mt. Zushan and Yansai Lake. A forest park is being built in the region.
Apart from the three, Jian added, the city will also strengthen its urban construction to make it picturesque and pleasant to the eye. The city government has joined hands with Tongji University in the layout of ancient city walls to better preserve them. Some industrial projects will be moved to the northern part of the city in a bid to better protect the environment of the urban areas.
Qinhuangdao is the first leg of the online tour, which runs till July 24. The second stop is Tangshan, a city in the southern part of Hebei Province.
(China Daily July 19, 2004)
