A summary meeting on the construction of the three-year action plan for infrastructure construction of the Bama Longevity and Health Maintenance International Tourism Zone was held by the Guangxi Development and Reform Commission and the Guangxi Culture and Tourism Department in Nanning on March 18.

The Bama Longevity and Health Maintenance International Tourism Zone is located in the northwest of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, covering the six counties of Bama, Donglan, Fengshan, Tian'e, Du'an, and Dahua. It covers a total area of 16,177 square kilometers and has a population of 2.11 million comprised of Zhuang, Yao, Miao, and other ethnic minorities. It is a well-known "home of longevity" in the world, as it has 502 elderly people over 100 years old and 37,341 elderly people between 80 and 99 years old.

The three-year action plan for the infrastructure construction of the tourism zone is a strategic decision and deployment made by the Guangxi government, which identified that Guangxi should use physical and financial resources to improve tourism infrastructure construction in the tourism zone from 2017 to 2019.

Tourists experience special ethnic customs in the Bama Longevity and Health Maintenance International Tourism Zone. [Photo by Yang Zhixiong/chinanews.com]

Over the past three years, the region has made overall arrangements for 1.5 billion yuan ($211.8 million) for the construction of the tourism zone, achieving significant results. The three-year action plan involves 24 projects in Baise with a total investment of 1.67 billion yuan, and 46 projects in Hechi with a cumulative investment of 2.66 billion yuan.

In the future, Guangxi will speed up construction of the remaining work to promote operation of the tourism zone, as well as strengthen cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road to further develop the cultural tourism industry in the region.