During the week-long Spring Festival period from February 1, 28,000 people visited Tengchong, located on the Sino-Myanmar border, 680 kilometers from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. Known as the "natural geological museum," the county has 97 dormant volcanoes believed to be the most well-preserved and complete in China.

The county is also endowed with 80 areas of hot springs, including a 10-square-meter pool nicknamed "boiling pan" where the water temperature is above 90 degrees Celsius attracting local and overseas visitors to boil eggs in it.

Tengchong was the home of noted personality as Ai Siqi, the late Chinese philosopher and thinker.

To better serve tourists, the local government allocated 100 million yuan (US$12 million) to build a volcanic park, a forest park, a highway link between Beihai wetland and Yunfeng Mountain and to beautify and renovate historic sites.

(eastday.com February 25, 2003)