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Culture, tourism industries beckon investors

By Lu Hongyan and Yang Cheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-22 16:50

Drawing on the province's long history and scenic spots, development of Anhui's tourism and culture industries has promising investment prospects, said organizers of the fourth Expo Central China.

Among the resources to be highlighted are Yellow Mountain in the city of Huangshan and the ancient villages in Xidi and Hongcun of Yixian county, which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Yellow Mountain is also included on the list of World Geoparks.

Displays of its magnificent scenery - pine trees, fantastic rock formations, seas of clouds, hot springs and snow - will be exhibited during the expo to attract more tourists to the province.

Anhui also has many other well-known natural and cultural sites, including Taiping Lake at Jiuhua Mountain, one of China's four Buddhist shrines, and Qiyun Mountain, a revered mountain for Taoism.

With a population of over 67 million, Anhui is credited as a land of magnificent cultures created by its people. Apart from Taoism, notable schools of thought in Anhui's history include the Jian'an and Tongcheng schools of literature and Xin'an school of painting, all of which had a deep influence on Chinese culture.

Huangmei Opera and the "Flower Drum Lantern" Dance are also historic gifts from Anhui. The best of the "four stationery treasures of Chinese writing" - writing brush, ink stick, ink stone and paper - are made in Anhui.

Based on such tradition and history, modern Anhui's culture and tourism industries are blossoming, growing at 30 percent every year.

The Publicity Department of the Anhui Provincial CPC Committee has signed a deal with Agriculture Bank of China to cooperate in the development of cultural industries by providing 20 billion yuan in credit over the next five years, the biggest credit support in China for the sector.

Anhui Publication Group and Anhui Book Distribution Group have been rewarded as "Excellent Enterprises of National Culture Reform".

Both two companies are listed in the top 500 enterprises in the culture industry in China and rank second and third in the industry in the province.

With more than 80 million users, Anhui Satellite Television was recently named one of the 10 most influential Internet TV channels.