Jinzhong held a culture and tourism promotion meeting in Beijing on Aug 18, reaching agreements worth some 33 billion yuan ($ 4.95 billion).

There were 40 projects involving traditional culture, health care, tourism and leisure promoted at the meeting, with eight projects agreed, such as the Jinzhong Lehua Resort project and a TV drama to be made on the Qiao Family –– a famous family of Shanxi merchants.

The promotion meeting was part of an event called "Love Jinzhong" which will be held until the end of 2018 and aims to improve the city’s reputation. During the next five days, 11 counties and districts in Jinzhong will showcase their local folk customs and tourist attractions at the Summer Palace in Beijing.

Jinzhong is the hometown of Shanxi merchants and a historical city with a number of cultural relics, such as the Ancient City of Pingyao, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and ancient residential compounds of famous Shanxi merchants.

From January to July 2017, the city received more than 40 million tourists and generated some 40 billion yuan in revenue, an increase of 25 percent year on year. The added value of companies involved in the creative industries accounted for 3.04 percent of Jinzhong’s GDP, ranking second among cities in Shanxi in terms of company numbers and proportion.

Yin Naiming, a top official in Jinzhong, addresses the promotion meeting for Jinzhong culture and tourism in Beijing on Aug 18. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

A signing ceremony for eight culture and tourism projects is held in Beijing on Aug 18. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]