By Lu Hongyan
Updated: 2007-08-13 14:00

Ding Wei, assistant to the minister of culture, grants the plaque of the State-level demonstration park for the cultural sector, to Duan Xiannian, chief of the management committee of the Qujiang New District in Xi'an. [He Jianrong]

XI'AN – The Qujiang New District in the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province has been named one of China's first two State-level demonstration parks for the cultural sector, together with the Overseas Chinese Town Group in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in South China’s Guangdong Province.

The designation endorses the achievements made by the district and group in the cultural sector and encourages other communities to follow suit, said Ding Wei, assistant to the minister of culture. He flew to Xi'an to present the plaque naming Qujiang New District a State-level demonstration park for the cultural sector on Saturday.

With the central government's strategy of promoting the cultural sector, the naming of Qujiang New District and the Overseas Chinese Town Group will further increase the scale of the cultural industry and nurture some enterprises in the sector.

With a planned area of nearly 63 square kilometers, the Qujiang New District is the site of Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907). And since 2003, a number of tourist attractions featuring the Tang culture have been built.

These include the Big Wild Goose Pagoda North Square; Qujiang Ocean World, boasting more than 300 types of freshwater and seawater creatures; and the Tang Hibiscus Garden, which is the country's first theme park featuring the royal garden of the Tang Dynasty, explained Sun Qingyun, secretary of the Xi'an Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The district is also creating an amorous environment with country's first theme park of love. With an investment of 500 million yuan (US$657,890), the Qujiang Pond Ruins Park, which features the famous Humble Cave Ruins, is expected to open next April, he said.

Located in Wudianpo Village in the Qujiang New Distric, the Humble Cave Ruins is well-known city landmark because it is where a popular Shaanxi Opera tells the love story between Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan.

Qujiang New District has rebuilt a cave at the site of the legendary one with a statue of Baochuan, which has attracted many visitors.

In addition to its historical references, Qujiang Pond Ruins Park will feature natural scenery as 45 hectares of water in the Qujiang Pond will be restored.

The park is part of a 167-hectare tourist attraction which includes the 67-hectare Tang City Wall Ruins Park and 6.4-hectare Zhenguan Cultural Plaza.

With an investment of nearly 1 billion yuan (US$132 million), the Zhenguan Cultural Plaza will include the Xi'an Concert Hall, Xi'an Theatre, Qujiang Cinema Town, Shaanxi Artists Gallery, Shaanxi Folk Art Hall, and Shaanxi Literary Hall.

Upon the plaza's completion, it can accommodate 100,000 visitors at one time, said Zhao Jiping, chairman of Shaanxi Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

The district's efforts to promote the Tang culture have paid off as the Qujiang New District has become a major tourist attraction in West China, Sun said.

Last year, the district received 16 million tourists and its tourism earnings registered 380 million yuan (US$50 million).

The capital of three dynasties in Chinese history, Xi'an is one of the most famous tourist destinations in China.