Tourism in the Three Gorges area, which has been down for three years, is bouncing back with the peak expected in 2001, according to a forum sponsored by the Hubei Provincial Tourism Bureau and the Three Gorges General Company, according to the latest Beijing Review.

Overseas reserves for the months of May, September and October have already reached 25,000 person/times, up 40 percent over last year, according to figures from Lihui Cruiser Corporation, a Sino-U.S. joint venture. Other companies involved in Three Gorges tourism also report a boom in orders. Group tours sponsored by travel agencies also are popular.

The next two years will be a golden era for Three Gorges sightseeing. After the Three Gorges Dam is completed in 2003, the new landscape of the Three Gorges will be more attractive, so tourism in the area will continue to develop for a long time after 2001.

(People’s Daily 05/16/2001)