China continues to develop new attractions in Tibet to attract more domestic tourists.
LHASA- Construction has begun on a CNY 30 billion (US$ 4.7 billion) culture and tourism park in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet autonomous region. The park, with a planned area of 800 hectares 2 km from downtown Lhasa, is expected to be completed in three to five years, said Ma Xinming, deputy mayor of Lhasa city, as the building project launched on Sunday.
The park is designed to improve Tibet’s tourism credentials and be a landmark of its cultural industry, Ma said. It will include attractions themed around Princess Wencheng, daughter of Emperor Li Shimin of the prosperous Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), who married Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo when she was 16. Visitors will be offered regular Wencheng-based outdoor performances named “Princess Wencheng” and other educational and entertainment facilities tracing the footsteps of the princess in Tibet. The actors featuring in “Princess Wencheng” will be sent to Beijing for rehearsals and will begin touring the show in late September.
The culture and tourism park will also include an “Art City,” home to displays of Tibetan handicrafts and medicine, and a “Folk City,” where tourists can get a taste of local life and buy folk goods. Cultural innovation, business and residential districts will also be incorporated into the project.
Despite restricting Tibet to foreign travellers, China announced that more than 2.81 million tourists visited the autonomous region in the first half of 2012, bringing a tourism revenue of CNY 2.4 billion (US$ 381 million). According to statistics released by Tibetan Tourism Bureau, this represents a year-on-year increase of 25.3%. However, from this total, only 32,384 visitors came from overseas, reflecting China’s control in entries into Tibet. The government said Tibet has a goal of drawing 15 million visitors annually by 2015.
(Source: Xhinua)
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
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