Scenic sites in southwest China's Yunnan province, famed for its rich biodiversity, are once again bustling with tourists, thanks to effective containment of COVID-19 outbreaks and strong policy stimulus.
A dozen of tourist coaches were spotted at a parking lot in Dianchi Lake in the provincial capital Kunming. Wei Fangfang, a tour guide on one of the buses, said that she was leading a 20-member tour group from Chongqing municipality. In addition to Kunming, their itinerary covers scenic spots in the province's Dali Bai autonomous prefecture.
From June 29 to July 6, Dali logged more than 1.39 million tourist visits. Since July, an airport in the province's Xishuangbanna, known for tropical forest reserves, has handled an average of 15,000 passengers each day.
Tang Zhiming, in charge of the Yunnan tourism automobile association, said that the tourism market in Yunnan has been on a path of recovery since June. Some tourist automobile companies have had to add vehicles to their fleets to serve the increasing demand.
The province boasts rich tourism resources, including unparalleled natural scenery, ethnic culture and world heritage sites such as the Old Town of Lijiang.
The popular "Impression Lijiang" show, which features live performances in a scenic setting at the foothills of Yulong Mountain, has seen its daily tourist numbers near 4,000.
The provincial government has rolled out a series of cultural and tourism consumption incentives worth 111 million yuan (about $16.5 million), including 80 million yuan of tourism consumption vouchers.
Chen Shuyun, deputy director of the Yunnan provincial department of culture and tourism, said that the province's tourism market has regained vitality and is expected to recover rapidly.
