China's first ever regional tourism investment plan passed evaluation by specialists recently in Beijing. Entitled, The Plan for the Investment in Western Regional Tourism, sponsored by the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC), State Tourism Administration and the State Council's Office for the Leading Group of Western Regional Development, is expected to serve as guide and basis for the development of China's western tourism.

The expert panel, responsible for the plan's appraisal, is composed of experts and scholars from the State Council's Development Research Center, China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC), Peking University, and Beijing Tourism Group. After repeated discussion and evaluation, it was unanimously approved.

Deputy director of the State Tourism Administration, Gu Chaoxi, gave a highly positive assessment of the plan at the approving ceremony, adding that China's most abundant tourist resources are in western and central China, where the protection and development of tourist resources are to be given top priority in tourism development. He expects that the plan for the investment in western regional tourism will play an important role in the investment of tourism for the whole western region.

The task of working out the plan was entrusted to professional organs through public bidding, and the work took a year, starting at the beginning of 2002.

Areas involved in the plan are divided into northwest and southwest regions, which is consistent with regions covered by the western development strategy. Of them, the northwest region consists of Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Yanbian Prefecture of Jilin, and the southwest region consists of Tibet, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guangxi, Enshi Prefecture of Hubei, and Xiangxi Prefecture of Hunan.

The Investment Research Institute of the SDRC and Zhongshan University undertook the task of working out the plan for the two regions. After accepting the task, the two units organized experts to research the region and carry out a survey. With active local government cooperation, the planning and supplementary materials were submitted for evaluation at the start of 2003.

The plan puts forward problems that need observation in a five-year period (2003-2007).

Details of the plan include that tourism of the northwest region should be developed with the Silk Road cultural tourism route, the great deserts, the Yellow River and pastures. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau eco-tourism district should be developed and invested in, while the southwest region should develop natural and ethnic eco-tourism including the Chongqing-Sichuan-Guizhou golden triangle eco-tour district, southeastern Guizhou-western Hunan and western Hubei eco-tour district. This would feature culture and customs of the ethnic minorities and Grand Shangri-La tourism district featuring the culture of ethnic minorities and the plateau landscape; Zhujiang Delta-eastern Guangxi-northern Guangxi golden tourism belt; the Lancang River-Mekong River transnational tourism district, featuring culture and customs of ethnic minorities as well as tropical landscapes.

The plan selects 60 major investment items with emphasis on infrastructure and subsidiary construction by local governments. Socially funded projects are welcome too.

Experts believe that the plan will play an important part in the optimization of investment in western regional tourism.

After the completion of the plan, work for similar plans in central and eastern regions of China will begin, in succession, according to officials from the State Tourism Administration; the aim being to promote tourism investment and increase tourism development.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, March 28, 2003)