Written by: Fu Xiaobo
Posted on: October 04, 2018 | 
Urumqi Shuixigou Scenic Area
Xinjiang, China, is famous for its beautiful and unique natural landscape, cultural scenery and sweet fruits. It has made consistent efforts for developing new tourism products and issuing new people-beneficial measures, thus attracting more and more tourists in recent years.
At the exits of Urumqi International Airport, tour groups waving different flags come one after another. Xinjiang Grand Theatre has a full house before its singing and dancing performances start every evening. Famous scenic spots, such as Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar of Urumqi and Narat Grassland of Yili, are crowded with people and vehicles. The Urumqi-based Xinjiang Ancient Ecological Park and Ahalteke Horse Base is also full of tourists every day. Du Xuemei, deputy general manager of the marketing center of Yema Cultural Development Company, said that they have added 10 guides to meet the demands of tourists and provided equestrian performances for tour groups with more than 300 people for the first time.
Chen Xiaocong, a retired teacher from Xiamen, who had just finished shopping and taking photos at Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, was soon going to Turpan, Kanas and other places by a tourist-dedicated train around northern Xinjiang. "The climate in Xinjiang is pleasant, the locals are warm and friendly, and the fruits and foods are unforgettable. I have different experiences every day, and I feel that just a few days are not enough to travel around Xinjiang."
Gul Ablim, deputy director-general of Xinjiang Tourism Development Commission, said that more than 150 concessions for the benefit of the people had been introduced in various places and scenic spots in Xinjiang. In addition to that, the personalized travel products, such as "self-drive tour in Xinjiang," "train tour around Xinjiang," and "flight tour around Xinjiang," meet the different needs of tourists and enrich their travel experiences.
In the first quarter of 2018, Xinjiang received nearly 13 million domestic and foreign tourists, an increase of 22% from the previous year. During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday alone, Xinjiang received 3.54 million tourists, up by 95% from the previous year, and the tourism consumption expenditure exceeded 3.2 billion Yuan, nearly tripling that of the same period from last year.
It is the fifth time Yan Jialin from Anhui province is traveling to Xinjiang, but this time, the RV self-drive tour is exciting for him. "Along the way, the RV station facilities are complete and the logistical support is also strong." RV lovers like him are driving more than 1000 RVs for an in-depth tour around Xinjiang, with their itinerary covering 48 counties and cities.
In order to meet tourist demands, aviation and railway departments have added additional routes and special trains. Zhang Qian of the Marketing Department of Xinjiang Airport (Group) Co., Ltd., said that by the end of June, there had been 31 tandem and circumferential flight routes between northern and southern Xinjiang. Xinjiang Railway Department predicts that tourist-dedicated trains to Xinjiang will exceed 200 this year.
At the 2018 Beijing International Tourism Fair, Xinjiang tourism commodities and tourist-dedicated train cooperatives attracted much attention. Zhang Ronghan, marketing manager of Urumqi Railway International Travel Agency, said that the series of tourism products of "train tour around Xinjiang" aroused extensive interest among domestic travel agencies. "We have received a lot of cooperation intentions."
Yang Zhaoping, president of Xinjiang Tourism Research Institute, said that the "tourism +" model launched by all trades around the region ,turned Xinjiang’s unique advantages of tourism resources into a product strength and developed new forms for holistic tourism.
"Many people come to our agritainment farm every day, and we receive a maximum of 150-160 people per day," said Li Yan, a villager in Fangjiazhuang Village, south suburb of Urumqi, who has been very busy as the peak season came around.
The revitalizing tourism industry of Xinjiang also delivers benefits to people engaged in tour guides, catering, accommodation and featured tourism services.
Li Yan is one of the tens of thousands of farmers and herdsmen who have benefited from tourism development. At present, there are more than 100 agritainment farms in Fangjiazhuang Village, next to Urumqi Nanshan tourism scenic area, and the once poor village has now turned into a famous "rich village," near and far.
Last year, 15 prefectures, many counties and cities of Xinjiang, including Zhaosu County, Turpan City, Wenquan County and Urumqi County, were enlisted as areas for building China's national holistic tourism demonstration zones. At present, these counties and cities are gradually advancing their featured tourism through differentiated operations in light of their own tourism resources.
Hou Hanmin, Secretary of CCP Committee of Xinjiang Tourism Development Commission, said that Xinjiang’s tourism industry is an important engine of high quality development of the regional economy and will constantly unleash vigor and become a major channel for the common prosperity of all ethnic groups. It will be the culmination of beautiful economies, health industries and happiness industries.
Translated by Xu Donglin
You may also like:
