To further tap its tourism potential, the government of Zhenjiang in East China's Jiangsu Province plans to attract more funds from domestic and overseas partners and turn the city into one of the country's best tourist destinations in the next few years, according to Sun Yanli, vice-mayor of Zhenjiang.

Surrounded by water and hills, the city has earned fame for its picturesque views and exotic landscapes. In addition, the city's 3,000-year history has bestowed it with abundant cultural resources favourable for the growth of tourism.

Over the years, the city government has made great efforts to develop the tourism industry by pouring large amounts of capital into infrastructure construction and building facilities, catering to the needs of tourists.

The tourism industry makes up a large proportion of the city's gross domestic product. Apart from traditional tourism items, such as theme parks and scenic spots, the city has also cultivated sightseeing tours of agricultural activities that are popular with urban residents.

The city now boasts three State-level and 120 provincial- and city-level cultural relic preservation sites, which attract millions of tourists every year.

However, owing to insufficient funds, many of the tourist attractions have been neglected or being poorly preserved, resulting in the waste of god-bestowed blessings, said Sun.

She added the city will do more to let people know about Zhenjiang in order to attract investment in some of the tourism projects.

The city government has decided to turn tourism into a pillar industry and make it a new growth point for the local economy in the next five years. The city plans to upgrade and renovate its operations, improve the tourism environment and speed up construction of several major scenic spots.

(China Daily 10/16/2001)