Tourism is being seen as an energetic industry capable of stimulating economic growth and transforming Liaoning province, which was recently dominated by heavy industries such as steel processing, said Jiang Xiuyun, an accountant with a company that specializes in real estate investments in the province's Fushun city. Jiang made the comments during the fourth session of the 12th National People's Congress, which concluded on Wednesday.

"We have to transfer our investment target and think of new potential projects because the provincial economy has been in depression and some outdated industries have been dying out," said Jiang, who is also a deputy to the NPC.

Jiang's company, Liaoning Roadsun Construction Development, decided to start investing in tourism and holiday resorts "because such industries can attract more residents to consume", she said.

Although the province is not rich in natural tourism sites, "we can develop tourism by establishing theme parks and outdoor entertainment venues", she said.

To that end, the company has invested in Hot Go Park, a vacation resort located between Fushun city and the province's capital, Shenyang.

"People visiting the park cannot only have a thrill on the amusement park rides but also learn about Chinese history and culture. It is a combination of both Chinese and Western attractions," she said.

In 2015 alone, the park received more than 3 million visitors and provided employment for more than 10,000 people, according to the deputy.

By 2020, the park anticipates having more than 100,000 visits a day and plans to eventually have more than 20,000 employees.

"Tourism will be effective in improving the country's industrial transformation and will be a major contributor to employment in the province," she said. "The gloomy economy in Liaoning is expected to improve greatly in this way."

Yang Min, another NPC deputy from Fushun, echoed Jiang's comments, saying tourism has made a breakthrough in boosting the province's GDP ranking, which has been low compared to many other provinces.

Jiang suggested the government develop railways between the province's cities "because more convenient travel will also benefit tourism".

Contact the writers at liuce@chinadaily.com.cn and caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/17/2016 page5)