Nearly 80 major sightseeing attractions in Guiyang, capital city of southwestern Guizhou province, will be linked up with a planned 210-kilometer ring road - part of the local government's efforts to build a world renowned tourist destination highlighting ecological friendliness.

The road has started construction and is expected to complete by 2019. It will allow a maximum speed of 60 km per hour.

The attractions will include the maple valley, the Longjia Mountain, the Baihua Lake, the Panlong karst cave and the Guiyang Forest Wildlife Zoo, as well as a number of villages and townships in rural areas featuring natural beauty.

The new sightseeing route, along with many other roads planned in the countryside, is also part of Guiyang's poverty alleviation strategy.

Li Zaiyong, a member of the standing committee of the CPC Guizhou provincial committee and the Guiyang Party chief, called for optimized tourism routes and integrated planning for roads and villages.

"The roads will link Guiyang's most beautiful mountains, forests, fields, rivers and lakes, and along the roads there are many sightseeing areas, agricultural industry zones and resorts," he said at a meeting on Oct 30.

"We will improve the environment in rural areas and local people's living conditions, and build high-end resorts with Guiyang characteristics and ethnic flavors."

He also suggested that innovative financing channels be developed by integrating government and social capital with market forces.

In 2007, the Chinese Meteorological Society honored the title of China's "summer capital" to Guiyang. Over the following decade, the city's tourism focused on the branding to develop products and services.

Now, people increasingly think of Guiyang when looking for a destination to spend their summers.

Yuan Yunlong, head of the city's tourism commission, said Guiyang is not only a tourist destination in its own right, but is also a tourism hub linking more other destinations.

"Guiyang has the best tourism resources and services in the province, with advanced transportation infrastructure, which allow it to become a regional tourism center," Yuan said.

"Guiyang will serve as an engine to drive the socioeconomic development of the province."

He added that Guiyang often introduces tourism products from other places in Guizhou, and even regions outside Guizhou, in its own tourism promotional campaigns.

"Guiyang is unique, but it can't stand out by itself," Yuan said. "We need joint efforts from all sides to make a bigger cake, to make Guiyang truly an international tourism city and let all sides share the benefits."

A survey in 2016 showed that Guiyang had 6,494 tourism sites, and another 2,833 sites with potential tourism resources were found that year.

During this year's National Day holiday, commonly known as the "golden week" lasting from Oct 1-7, Guiyang welcomed 9.6 million tourists from China and abroad, a 40.38 percent increase from last year, and tourism revenue hit 7.1 billion yuan, up 42.52 percent.

This marked the 10th consecutive year the city enjoyed growth rates higher than 30 percent in the both figures.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/27/2017 page15)