Do you want to travel through the numerous hutong, or alleys, in
Beijing by a trishaw pedicab?
Or do you want to float paper boats with candles on them on the waters of Shichahai Lake at night?
Beijing tourist authorities are gearing up to promote tourism in the city, especially as the 2008
Beijing Olympics is approaching.
The hosting of the Olympics will create tremendous opportunities for Beijing's tourism industry, Yu Changjiang, director of the
Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism, said at the
Beijing Olympics Tourism Promotion Conference yesterday.
"With the Olympics approaching, our theme of Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics will allow the city to become the focal point for tourists from the whole world," Yu said.
According to estimates, there will be an annual increase of 7 to 8 per cent in overseas tourists in
Beijing between 2005 and 2008, and an annual increase of 13 per cent for 2008, Yu said.
That means
Beijing is expected to receive 4.4 million overseas visitors spending US$4.5 billion in 2008, and 150 million domestic visitors, spending 122.5 billion yuan (US$14.8 billion), he said.
Confronted with such huge market growth, local tourist authorities are emphasizing a series of key tourist events and items, including the Shichahai Cultural Tourism Festival.
The annual tourism festival at the downtown lake in June and July has drawn an increasing number of visitors, especially overseas ones, said Liu Jun, a tourist official with the city's Xicheng District Tourist Bureau.
The hutong around Shichahai Lake are undergoing large-scale renovation, which is expected to be completed by the end of August.
A total of 19.83 million yuan (US$2.4 million) has been earmarked to give the alleyways a facelift. Underground pipes and Internet access will be installed, and decorative street lamps will be erected by the side of the lake, Liu said.
Another key tourist project, the sightseeing bus collaborative project, has also been launched.
The city sightseeing bus project plans to carve out two fixed sightseeing itineraries - New
Beijing and Old Beijing.
The New
Beijing route will use double-decker sightseeing buses with open tops. The itinerary will include Chang'an Street and the Second Ring Road, which will allow visitors to appreciate New Beijing's modern charm.
The Old
Beijing itinerary will use open-topped cars to pass through the city's hutong and parks, highlighting
Beijing folk customs.
Participants at the tourism promotion conference have discussed ways to upgrade accommodation at Beijing's hotels in order to meet the needs of the Olympics.
It is estimated that
Beijing will have more than 800 star-rated hotels and more then 4,000 non-star-rated ones by 2008.
The current problem with the non-starred hotels is that these have low standards, are small and lack proper communication facilities.
Foreign capital and advanced management systems are being encouraged to improve these hotels and non-star-rated restaurants, officials said.
