Authorities in Hunan's southern city of Yongzhou are trying to tap into its rich historical and cultural resources to develop tourism.
Yongzhou is known across China as the place where Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) writer Liu Zongyuan penned his famous essays that depict the local landscapes.
The city aims to turn its advantages in tourism resources into economic growth by promoting cultural tourism.
"Cultural tourism is Yongzhou's unique competitive advantage. We must maintain our privileged position and put it at an important place," said Chen Wenhao, Party chief of Yongzhou.
Yongzhou is an important source of Hunan culture. The city is associated with several nationally known cultural or historical figures, including the legendary ancient emperor Shun, poet and scholar Liu Zongyuan, Song Dynasty (960-1279) literati Zhou Dunyi and calligraphers like Huaisu and He Shaoji.
The city is also home to the Yao ethnic culture and the centuries-old nushu — or "women's writing", a unique written language used among local rural women to express themselves.
Yongzhou boasts more than 2,700 cultural and historical sites, 30 nationally protected heritage sites and five national intangible cultural heritage items.
In recent years, Yongzhou's government carried out a series of measures to upgrade its cultural tourism industry.
A newly released blueprint highlighted Lingling Ancient Town as the core of the city's cultural tourism, with other attractions including the Jiuyi Mountains, scenic spots in the north and the Yao ethnic culture.
Lingling Ancient Town received 1.67 million tourists in the first half of the year, which was 5.5 times more than in 2005, and brought in revenue of more than 1 billion yuan ($163 million).
In 2014, the local government signed a tourism-related project with Beijing WGHT Group, which plans to invest 3 to 5 billion yuan to upgrade tourist facilities in the ancient town.
In the first three quarters of this year, Yongzhou received nearly 24 million tourists from home and abroad, a year-onyear increase of 24.83 percent.Tourism revenue reached 14.44 billion yuan, up 25.09 percent from a year ago. Among the tourists 54,600 were foreigners, which marked an increase of 13.38 percent.
According to Long Xiangyang, director of Yongzhou's tourism administration, the tourism industry in Yongzhou has entered an era of fast growth and the city hopes to turn itself into a national demonstration zone for ecological tourism and an experimental zone for integrated development of culture and tourism.
Yongzhou is expected to receive 32 million visits in 2015 and revenue could hit 20 billion yuan. Tourism is expected to contribute more than 12 percent of the city's GDP by then.
