Yixing rebuilds nine tourist roads totaling more than 100 kilometers to link its popular tourist attractions. [Photo/ourjiangsu.com]
Yixing was approved as a national demonstration zone for all-for-one tourism recently, the first county in Wuxi to win the honor.
The demonstration zones must have high standards in governance, extensive tourism products and services, and active public participation, according to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
The CNTA encourages local governments to build on each region's tourism resources to develop unique tourism competitiveness.
Yixing has worked to integrate tourism resources to improve tourism competitiveness and service quality based on its beautiful landscapes and cultural sites, according to Xu Xihua, director of the Yixing cultural radio, television and tourism bureau.
In recent years, Yixing has rebuilt nine tourist attractions totaling more than 100 kilometers, and developed 20 km of new greenways to connect its 11 popular tourist attractions and many historical cultural sites.
Yixing shut down 338 chemical companies in the past five years, and invested 2.84 billion yuan ($434.4 million) to implement 844 key pollution prevention projects. The city's air quality ratio has increased from 56.8 percent to 82.5 percent. Over 36 percent of the city's total area has been designated as ecological space.
Yixing also introduced many new tourism projects to cater to the city's growing demand for tourism products and services and facilitate its economic transition.
The Yaohu Town tourism resort, expected to complete for trial operation in 2022, will be built into a cultural and tourist town that integrates local characteristics. It will have 2,500 guest rooms and a 100,000-square-meter exhibition center.
The Yixing Yangxian Eco-tourism Resort Management Office was established in August, aiming to unify the cultural and tourism investment, and tourism resources development and protection.
