Mountains, rivers and bridges have long shaped Guizhou's landscape. Now they are shaping its ambitions. The mountainous province in Southwest China is accelerating efforts to build itself into a world-class tourism destination, drawing on its ecological strengths, cultural diversity and improving infrastructure to attract visitors from both China and abroad.
"Guizhou is a magical and beautiful place," says Cai Chaolin, vice-governor of Guizhou province, at a tourism industry conference held in partnership with a major online travel agency earlier this month.
Cai highlights the province's ecological credentials, noting that its forest cover stands at 63.3 percent and that the proportion of days with good air quality remains above 98 percent.
He adds jokingly that the remaining days are largely due to fireworks set off during Spring Festival.
With an average summer temperature of 23 C, Guizhou has become a popular destination for summer retreats and long-stay travel, industry experts at the conference say.
Transport infrastructure, once a limiting factor, has undergone rapid improvement.
Guizhou now has more than 9,000 kilometers of expressways and over 4,000 kilometers of railways.
"All of our counties are connected by highways, and all nine cities and prefectures are served by airports and high-speed rail," Cai points out.
The province is also home to around half of the world's 100 highest bridges.
"The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, which opened in September last year as the world's tallest bridge, has quickly become a widely shared online attraction," he says.
