A grand boat show was held on Wednesday on the Dongting Lake in
city Yueyang to mark the start of the 2007 Hunan Tourism
Festival.
Hundreds of vessels, decorated as ancient warships, fishers and
modern flowery boats impressed large number of audience from home
and abroad.
This year's tourism festival is the sixth since 2002, and the
largest ever.
Two hundred and twenty foreign tourist agents have come to Hunan
for their respective fact-finding missions. They are from eleven
countries and regions including the United States, Germany, New
Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
"I've been to China 56 times, and have visited Zhangjiajie for
eleven times," said Mr. Kown, member of a South Korean tourism
association.
When asked about the differences between Hunan and other places
in China as a tourist destination, Mr. Kown said that in Hunan one
can see more natural scenery and the unique lifestyles of many
ethnic groups.
"Zhangjiajie is a place that every South Korean wants to visit
at least once," he noted.
In 2006, Hunan received over 90 million domestic visitors and
970 thousand foreign tourists, who together have spent about 59
billion yuan, accounting for 7.9% of the provincial GDP.
(CRI September 14, 2007)
