Times Square promotes Wudang Mountains

A publicity film for the Wudang Mountains played in New York's Times Square, "The Crossroads of the World", on March 11.

According to the tourism administration of the Wudang Mountain special zone, the film will run continuously on an outdoor screen in Times Square. The screen, referred to as the "China Screen", has been leased long-term by Xinhua Gallery Media Corporation.

The 15-second film features magnificent sunrises, a sea of clouds, and the summit of the Wudang Mountains. It also depicts foreigners practicing tai chi shadowboxing.

According to historical records, the palaces and temples in the Wudang Mountains were built by Zhudi, an emperor during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in 1412. Since then, the Wudang Mountains has enjoyed high status in politics and religion.

The Wudang Mountains scenic zone has invested nearly 5 billion yuan ($804.7 million) to improve facilities and tourism products and perfect management and services. It also invested 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) to construct the Taichi Lake tourism zone.

Last year, the Wudang Mountains received 4.26 million visitors, including 300,000 foreign visitors mainly from Southeast Asia, Europe, America and Oceania, as well as regions such as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Its tourism revenue reached 2.3 billion yuan ($370 million).

Wudang kung fu has also attracted numerous students from home and abroad. Over 7,000 foreigners have come to Wudang to study kung fu. Masters of Wudang kung fu have also established kung fu schools in European and American countries.

Films featuring tourism resorts like Zhangjiajie and Lijiang and cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have appeared on "China Screen" since its debut screening in August 2011.