Anhui province is building a multidimensional and multi-layered tourism industry, picking up more tourism attraction “pearls” in the province for its “panoramic tourism” roadmap, according to the Anhui Provincial Tourism Administration.

Hua Jianhui, vice-governor of Anhui province, who is in charge of the provincial tourism industry, explained that Anhui’s tourism industry is currently in transition. Instead of focusing only on the promotion of its scenic spots, the province will also introduce its rich history and culture within China and around the world, forging a multidimensional and multi-layered tourism industry.

Hua believes that revolutionary sites, scenic spots and ancient towns should all be included on the tourism promoting list. In the meantime, “multidimensional and multi-layered tourism” refers to a tourism industry featuring not only sightseeing but also facilities for relaxation and health. This new pattern will provide Anhui’s tourism problems with a new solution, by utilizing its many different tourism resources.

Anhui province enjoys an abundance of tourism resources, such as Huangshan Mountain, the Buddhist Jiuhua Mountain, the Taoist Tianzhu Mountain and Xin’an River, the "landscape gallery” and inherited cultures, including the time-honored culture of Huaihe River region and Anhui province. All these unique resources give an edge to the development of Anhui’s tourism industry.

Since Anhui is cold in the north and warm in the south, the fantastic scenic spots in the southern part of the province are popular among tourists from within China and abroad, while the historical and cultural sites are seldom visited. Anhui has therefore launched a “panoramic tourism” plan to integrate the “tourism pearls” in the northern, middle and southern parts of Anhui onto the overall Anhui tourism roadmap.

It is estimated that Anhui received a total of 124 billion Chinese and foreign visitors in 2009, up by 23.38% over the same period of last year, realizing a total income from tourism of 90.89 billion RMB ($13.52 billion). This year, Anhui’s statistics of inbound tourists reached 993,300, up by 26.76% since this time last year, including 592,300 foreign visitors, up by 23.91%.

By Audrey and Chen Zhilin