A giant Ferris wheel is planned for Guangzhou to give the southern city's tourism business a lift.

The gigantic project, expected to cost more than US$100 million, has been listed as a key project to boost tourism in the city, Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday.

According to the newspaper, relevant city departments signed agreements with their foreign counterparts at the Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival on Monday to jointly build and operate the project.

An official from the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Development and Reform yesterday declined to give details of the project, saying that it is still in its preliminary stages.

"The project will be jointly funded by investors from home and abroad," he added.

The site for the Ferris wheel has not been chosen, the newspaper reported.

Shanghai and Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, have already built their own giant wheels.

At more than 145 metres, the sky wheel in Changsha is the tallest wheel in Asia, while the Shanghai project reaches 108 metres.

During the one-week festival which ends tomorrow, Guangdong Province has signed 129 agreements worth more than US$1.63 billion with overseas investors to jointly construct tourism projects and facilities in the province.

In addition to scenic spots, these projects also cover hotels and other tourism and service projects.

Organizers said the event has attracted more than 4,000 offshore investors and tourists, plus 6,000 domestic visitors.

Overseas investors have mainly come from the United States, Japan and Europe as well as Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Bordering Hong Kong and Macao, Guangdong has recently become a big tourism centre on the Chinese mainland.

To help boost its tourism industry, Guangdong has offered 72-hour visa-free stays to groups of foreign tourists entering the province from Hong Kong and Macao.

The province, known for its beautiful subtropical scenery and beaches, attracts millions of domestic and overseas tourists every year.

(China Daily November 30, 2005)