Huangshan city in East China's Anhui province is said to have made remarkable progress in cultural tourism and infrastructure construction last year.
That's according to the government work report released at the 2nd session of the 14th Anhui Provincial People's Congress. It also unveiled the city's development blueprint for environmental protection in 2024.
Cultural tourism
The city hosted over 200 major cultural and tourism events in 2023, including the Anhui International Cultural Tourism Festival, the Hui Cuisine Food Festival, the Rural Opera Festival and the Open-Air Symphony Concert. These events promoted its diverse urban image and international influence.
The city is also developing world-class leisure, vacation and health tourism destinations. It is accelerating the development of high-end service industry clusters, including leisure and vacation, the creative economy, sports events, health care, the exhibition economy and cultural services.
Infrastructure
The Hangzhou-Nanchang High-speed Railway, which passes through Huangshan city and its three counties of Shexian, Yixian and Qimen, was opened at the end of 2023.
Elsewhere, the Chizhou-Huangshan High-speed Railway, which passes through the Huangshan district of Huangshan city and its Yixian county, entered the operation testing phase on Jan 15. These two high-speed rail lines are seen as being a major boon for Huangshan city, fostering the coordinated development of the economy and society along the lines.
Environmental Protection
In 2023, the Xin'an River - Thousand Island Lake Ecological Environment Joint Protection Cooperation Zone was approved for construction.
The Xin'an River originates from Xiuning county in Huangshan city. Thousand Island Lake, known as Qiandao Lake, is a scenic site in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province.
The cooperation zone covers Anhui province's Huangshan city, Xuancheng city and Zhejiang province's Hangzhou city. The three cities will work together to make the zone a new model for beautiful river and lake developments that integrate mountains, waterways and culture.
A view of an idyllic spot along the Xin'an River. [Photo/WeChat account: huangshanribao]