Laoxishui Town, a key tourism project of Pingyao county, held a ground-breaking ceremony in Wuxi on Oct 12.

The project in which CRRC City Transportation Co invested 1.5 billion yuan ($227.73 million) covers an area of 20.6 hectares in the west of Pingyao county.

The project includes a commercial street highlighting Shanxi specialties and time-honored brands such as mature vinegar and wine, a dinning street which is the permanent venue for World Wheaten Foods Conference (a Shanxi-produced food program), a Bed-and-breakfast complex featuring Shanxi residential compounds, and a city theme park.

The project will be conducted in four stages during the next five years. The first-stage project costing 300 million yuan covers 3.33 hectares and is expected to go into operation at the end of September 2018.

Once finished, the Laoxishui Town which will be built into Shanxi's Watertown will add more tourist services to local tourism, further showcasing Shanxi folk customs and culture as well as increasing the county's tourism benefits.

A ground-breaking ceremony for Laoxishui Town, a key tourism project of Pingyao county, takes place on Oct 12. [Photo/pingyao.gov.cn]

A poster for Laoxishui Town in Pingyao county [Photo/pingyao.gov.cn]