Guizhou province is gearing up for the 2016 International Conference of Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports, which opens in the Bouyei and Miao prefecture, on Thursday, Sept. 22. 

The two-day conference is expected to attract more than 2,500 athletes, almost 500 of them from overseas, along with 1,000 officials or tourism experts from both home and abroad. Its theme has to do with exploring Guizhou’s landscape and harmony between humans and nature. Its main purpose is to promote sustainable development in mountain tourism and cooperation within the industry.

The prefecture has spent 14.8 billion yuan in several dozen key infrastructure and social welfare projects to improve its tourism industry, leisure and health care services, poverty reduction, urban construction, transportation, trade, and other areas. 

The decorations and opening and closing ceremony rehearsals are going well and the accommodations are all ready, security guards arranged, 575 volunteers recruited and given professional training. And, on Monday, the deputy secretary and governor of the prefecture, Yang Yongying, addressed a gathering to say that everyone taking part needs to be aware of his or her responsibility, focus on details, and guarantee the success of the event because it is expected to showcase Chinese tourism and boost international cooperation in mountain tourism.