Known for its waterfall, gorge and stone buildings, Anshun, a city in Southwest China's Guizhou province, is an ideal place for tourists to visit in summer, officials said at a recent promotion conference.

"The average temperature of Anshun is about 21 C in summer. It has fresh and wet air, always raining at night," said Gu Xinwei, director of the Anshun tourism development committee.

The city is home to three national scenic spots, two of which have been granted 5A attraction status.

One of the 5A-level attractions, Huangguoshu Waterfall, is among the largest waterfalls in East Asia.

Located on the Baishui River in Anshun, it is 77.8 meters high and 101 meters wide. Tourists can watch the waterfall from different angles at six of its observation decks, according to China's travel portal Ctrip.

The best season to visit it is from June to October, Ctrip said.

"The scene in the TV opera Journey to the West left me with a deep impression, said Doris Lee, a netizen on Ctrip. "That's when I first learned about Huangguoshu Waterfall."

Lee said she visited the Doupotang waterfall at the Huangguoshu scenic area, a shooting site for the TV series, adapted from an identically named ancient novel.

"You'd better wear a raincoat, otherwise you'll get showered all over," Lee said.

She also mentioned an underground karst cave inside the waterfall group; the cave contains many colorful stalagmites and stone forests under light.

Cao Pengcheng, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, said at the conference that the natural tourism resources of Anshun attracted many natives in search of a feast for the eyes, clean air for the lungs and a place to relax from the stress of a busy life.

Cao said the two cities are cooperating to develop more travel routes for Beijing residents.

Zeng Yongtao, Party chief of Anshun, said Beijing is an important market for developing its tourism. The first direct flight from Anshun to Beijing took off in early 2013, followed by a flight named after Huangguoshu Waterfall in 2015 flying to Anshun from the Nanyuan airport in Beijing.

Guizhou Fenghuang Travel Agency released preferential policies to target Beijing tourists, saying visitors from the capital can get a 50 percent discount for travels in Anshun.

After receiving approval to construct a national tourism demonstration area in 2016, Anshun is on the way to innovating different tourism products, including Huangguoshu Waterfall and Dragon Palace Cave, the underground cave system with lakes, waterfalls and stalactites, as well as the Getu River and stone buildings, Zeng said.

During this year's 2017 Guizhou Anshun Aviclub General Aviation Flight Carnival, which takes place from Friday through Sunday, the city will hold promotional events for air travel.

Anshun ranked No 2 in a list of the Top Attractions of this summer, released by China Tourism Academy in July, following only Kunming of Southwest China's Yunnan province.

Dai Bin, president of China Tourism Academy, said though temperature, humidity and rainfall played an important role in evaluation, the relaxing, fashionable atmosphere is also key elements attracting modern tourists.

Some 300 million Chinese people are expected to seek relief from summer's heat in Anshun and other domestic vacation spots.

chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/19/2017 page24)