Tourism market
China is rich in tourism resources, with magnificent mountains and rivers, rich and colorful folk customs, unique animals and plants, countless places of interest, as well as unique operas, music, dances and world-renowned cuisine, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists every year. At present, China has formed the world's largest tourism market with the fastest growth rate and the strongest potential.
In 2003, the main economic indicators of China's tourism industry showed the first negative growth since the 1990s. The SARS epidemic in the first half of 2003 was the direct cause of the heavy damage to China's tourism industry. Since May 1, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and other relevant departments have implemented a series of support measures for tourism related industries, such as tax reduction and exemption, discount loans, and so on, which have lasted until the end of the year. In the third quarter after the SARS epidemic ended, the domestic tourism market rebounded rapidly, and the inbound tourism market also began to recover. By the end of September, the number of inbound tourists had increased by 2.17% over the same period of the previous year, reversing the six consecutive months of negative growth since March; Since October, the number of inbound tourists has exceeded that of the same period last year, and tourism revenue has begun to grow steadily.
The steady development of outbound tourism of citizens has made China a remarkable emerging tourist source exporter in Asia. By the end of 2003, China had approved the opening of 59 tourist destination countries and regions that citizens could visit at their own expense, including 28 tourist destination countries and regions that could officially travel.
According to the preliminary estimation of the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), China's tourism and travel industry is expected to achieve an annual growth rate of 10.4% in the next decade, and China will become the fourth largest tourism development economy in the world. In addition, the World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2020, China will become the world's largest tourist destination country and the fourth largest tourist source export country. Tourism services
The rapid development of China's civil aviation, railway, inland river and marine passenger transport and highway transportation has provided transportation guarantee and convenience for overseas tourists to come to China and travel in China. In order to meet the needs of tourists at different levels, a large number of hotels and restaurants have been newly built, rebuilt and expanded across the country. At present, there are 8880 star rated hotels. All large and medium-sized cities and tourist attractions have well-equipped and well served hotels for domestic and foreign tourists.
There are 1349 international travel agencies in China, including 248 in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing. On June 12, 2003, the National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the Interim Provisions on the Establishment of Foreign Holding and Wholly Foreign owned Travel Agencies. On July 18, the National Tourism Administration approved JAL International Travel Service (China) Co., Ltd. to enter the Chinese market as the first foreign-funded travel agency. This company mainly engaged in inbound tourism of Japanese tourists has officially opened in Beijing. On December 1, China's first foreign-owned tourism enterprise, Zhongluyi Tourism Co., Ltd., was officially established in Beijing. The holding parties of the company are MB China Investment Co., Ltd. and TUI, the largest tourism group in Europe. The Chinese partner is the head office of China Travel Service, which has more than 300 local Chinese travel agencies as its sales network.
Tourism theme
In order to better introduce the rich tourism resources to domestic and foreign tourists, since 1992, the National Tourism Administration has launched different tourism themes every year, with each theme focusing on one tourism feature. In 1992, the first theme activity was identified as the "Friendly Sightseeing Year", followed by "Landscape Tour", "Cultural Relics Tour", "Folk Custom Tour", "Holiday Leisure Tour", "Ecological Environment Tour", etc; From 2000 to 2003, the tourism themes were "China Century Tour", "China Sports Fitness Tour", "China Folk Art Tour" and "China Cooking King Tour".
The five thousand year history and civilization of the Chinese nation has formed its own unique lifestyle, eating habits and folk customs. The colorful and characteristic life of Chinese people has become an important part of Chinese culture, and also constitutes a tourism resource with great humanistic value. In 2004, the theme of tourism was identified as "Chinese people's life tour", which aims to let overseas tourists go deep into China's social reality, experience the life of Chinese people and the connotation of Chinese culture, and feel the yearning and blessing of the enthusiastic Chinese people for peace and friendship.
tourist resources
China's tourism resources are mainly divided into three parts: natural landscape, historical and cultural landscape and folk customs.
natural landscape
There are countless strange mountains and waters in China's vast land - mountains, lakes, canyons, caves, waterfalls, which are gorgeous. Mount Tai, Mount Heng, Mount Hua, Mount Heng and Mount Song have been collectively known as the "Five Mountains" since ancient times, and are famous mountains in China. Mount Tai, which stretches across the central part of Shandong Province, is majestic and connects the earth to the sky, known as "the first of the five mountains". Huangshan, located in the south of Anhui Province, is a fantastic natural landscape composed of strange pines, strange rocks, sea of clouds and hot springs.
Jiuzhaigou Valley, Huangguoshu Waterfall and Guilin landscape are all located in southwest China. Jiuzhaigou Valley in northern Sichuan is a valley with a depth of more than 40 kilometers and a total area of about 620 square kilometers. It has the beauty of lakes, waterfalls, snow mountains and forests, and is known as the "fairy tale world". Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou Province is a large group of waterfalls, consisting of 18 ground waterfalls and 4 underground waterfalls. The roar can be heard five kilometers away. In Guangxi, the Lijiang River runs from Guilin to Yangshuo, with a length of 82 kilometers, winding between karst peak forests. The river is clear and picturesque. It is the famous landscape of Guilin.
On the plateau in northern China, many high mountains and flat lakes are spectacular. The Tianshan Tianchi Lake in Xinjiang is 1980 meters above sea level and 105 meters at the deepest point. The lake water is crystal clear, surrounded by mountains, green grass and wild flowers.
The scenery of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River has enjoyed a long reputation, and the numerous scenic spots and historic sites and beautiful and moving legends on both sides of the river are fascinating. Qutang Gorge is magnificent and precipitous; Wu Gorge is beautiful and deep; The Xiling Gorge Beach is full of rushing water and numerous reefs, and the Little Three Gorges is verdant and clear. The Three Gorges Dam built here is the largest hydropower project in China.
Historical and cultural landscape
China's long history has left countless cultural relics for today's tourists. As a symbol of the Chinese nation, the Great Wall has become the most famous tourist attraction in China. The greatest construction project in the history of human civilization was built more than 2000 years ago during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Its vast number of projects and majesty can be called a world miracle. At present, there are dozens of places open to tourists, such as Badaling, Laolongtou, Jiayuguan, and their respective passes, piers, and beacon towers.
Grottoes, rock paintings and sculpture art are also magnificent treasures in China's tourism resources. The grottoes are concentrated on the ancient Silk Road in Gansu Province. The most famous one is Mogao Grottoes, known as the "treasure house of oriental art". The 492 existing caves in Mogao Grottoes are distributed on the three or four floors of the cliff wall. The total area of murals is about 45000 square meters, and there are more than 2100 painted statues. Their artistic attainments are profound, and their imagination is rich. The masterpiece of grotto art in southern China is represented by the Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan Province, which is 71 meters high and 28 meters wide. It is the largest stone seated Buddha in China; It is not only huge in shape, but also well proportioned in structure, showing the superb carving skills of ancient craftsmen.
Religious and cultural holy places are scattered from south to north. Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism, was built in 495 AD and is famous for Shaolin Kung Fu. In the temple, there are more than 300 square meters of famous murals of 500 Arhats in the Ming Dynasty, as well as boxing scores of Shaolin Temple in the Qing Dynasty. Wudang Mountain Scenic Area is located in Hubei Province. There are 72 peaks within 30 kilometers. The peaks are strange and the valleys are dangerous. The scenery is beautiful. It is a famous Taoist holy land in China, and it is also the most complete, largest and highest ranking Taoist ancient buildings in China. Mount Emei is located in the west of Sichuan Province and is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China. There are many ancient Buddhist architectural relics on the mountain.
There are 100 famous historical and cultural cities in China, most of which have a history of more than 1000 years. Suzhou and Hangzhou, two cities to the south of the Yangtze River, have crisscrossed rivers and lakes, crisscrossed water networks, small bridges and flowing water, idyllic villages and picturesque houses. They have been known as "paradise on earth" since ancient times. The ancient city of Pingyao, which was built in the Ming Dynasty and is still well protected, is located in the central part of Shanxi Province. The Yangshao and Longshan cultural relics of the Neolithic Period have been found here, proving that human beings have been thriving here five or six thousand years ago. Lijiang Ancient City in Yunnan is not only the center of Naxi Dongba culture, but also the intersection of Han, Tibetan, Bai and other ethnic cultures, with rich historical and cultural landscape. The city was built in the Song Dynasty. There are many stone bridges, stone archways and folk houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which provide valuable information for the study of the history of Chinese folk house architecture. It can be called a "living museum of ancient folk houses".
Local Customs
The different cultures and lifestyles of China's 56 ethnic groups are colorful, and national festivals have their own characteristics. One of the largest and most interesting festivals of the Tibetan people, the Shelton Festival (also known as the Yogurt Festival), has also been designated as the Tibetan Opera Festival. In the five days beginning on June 30 of the Tibetan calendar every year, the main genres of Tibetan opera from all over Tibet gather in Lhasa for performance competitions.
The Nadam (entertainment) conference held on the grassland in July of the lunar calendar is an annual grand festival of the Mongols. Mongolian people sing and dance in festivals, carry out wrestling, horse racing and archery competitions, as well as Aobao worship and material exchange activities.
The Bai people who live in Dali, Yunnan, hold the "March Street" every March in the lunar calendar. Diancang Mountain in the west of the ancient city of Dali becomes the natural stage for this festival. It is said that long ago, Guanyin Bodhisattva subdued the evil king who harmed the people for the Bai people. People felt his merit and gathered every year to burn incense and offer sacrifices. Later, it gradually evolved into a traditional festival, and has become an annual material exchange and cultural and sports event for the Bai people.
The Water Splashing Festival of the Dai people in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, after the Tomb Sweeping Day in the lunar calendar, water is regarded by the Dai people as a symbol of auspiciousness, happiness and happiness. On the first day of the festival, people greet each other with flowers and water; The next day was the day of splashing water. The scene was grand and warm. People were chasing and splashing each other with buckets, pots and buckets of water. During the festival, activities such as dragon boat racing and peacock dancing are also held.
The newly built roads have made Lugu Lake, a plateau lake at the junction of Yunnan and Sichuan, a tourist hotspot. There are 30000 ancient and mysterious Mosuo people living in hundreds of square kilometers around the lake. They still retain the characteristics of matriarchal society and the marriage custom of "men do not marry, women do not marry", known as the last daughter country on the earth. The charm of Mosuo girls, the elegance of canoes and the endless fishing songs are called "three wonders on the lake" by tourists.
