China's first National Tourism Day is being celebrated Thursday, with various activities organized and popular tourist sites offering free or half-price admission across China.
The National Tourism Administration of China (CNTA) has cooperated with the
Beijing Municipal Government to hold a celebration ceremony in The Temple of Heaven this morning, including a speech about what the day means for the development of tourism in China.
Other activities, including travel book sales, tourist spot promotions, tourism consultations and folk art performances will also be held.
"We hope to call on more citizens to take part in our activities and offer benefits for them. National Tourism Day can raise awareness for the travel industry to upgrade their services and products," said Sun Weijia, vice-director of
Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA).
According to BTA, about 82 activities will be carried out in different districts in Beijing, such as flower festivals in Fragrance Hill, Jietai Temple and Miaofeng Mountain.
Compared with the capital, other places offer more favorable policies for tourists. In Shanghai, for example, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower,
Shanghai Wild Animal Park,
Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park and Happy Valley amusement park are now offering 50-percent-off entry fees (today only). All scenic spots in North China's Shanxi Province, such as Pingyao, will be at half-price today, and 84 spots in Hubei Province have promised to open for free, with landmark attractions such as Wudang Mountain at half price.
"National Tourism Day is not only a promotion day but also should be a happy day for ordinary people. We would love to call upon more travel industries to carry on these discount policies and non-profit tour companies to benefit the people," said Zhang Dahua, director of Hubei Province Tourism Administration.
With the theme "Learn knowledge from thousands of books and accumulate experience by traveling thousands of miles," the first National Tourism Day is regarded by CNTA as an important opportunity to promote the tourism culture and economy.
"It will make the whole society pay more attention to tourism, better optimizing the environment of the industry, promoting consumption and driving the development of tertiary industry, as tourism becomes one of the pillar industries of China's economy," said Zhu Shanzhong, vice-chairman of CNTA.National Tourism Day falls on May 19, honoring the date when ancient travel writer Xu Xiake (1587-1641) started his famous book
Travel Notes of Xu Xiake. Recognized as one of the most famous travelers and geographers in Chinese history, Xu traveled China for more than 30 years, documenting every step of his journey. On May 19, 1613, Xu started writing his book in Ninghai, Zhejiang Province.
As the place where Xu began his work, Ninghai county has also organized a series of activities, including the "Visit the Journey of Xu Xiake" tour by car from Ninghai to Eastern Zhejiang Valley. Scenic attractions in Ninghai will open for free for three days and a camping festival will be held afterwards, attracting 2,000 lovers of camping to Ninghai.
Apart from local governments, tourism agencies have also taken this opportunity for better brand promotion to launch new travel offers. In Ninghai, the China Youth Tourism Service (CYTS) is to announce a plan, to support children from the non-governmentalcharitable organization
Beijing Sun Village to travel in Tianjin, and also set up classes to educate them on world destinations.
"The setting-up of the National Tourism Day can increase our pride as tourism industry members, as well as our responsibility in supplying better service. It will boost the travel culture of China, and represent a new era for tourism in China," said Ge Lei, CYTS Marking Department General Manager.
But since it is still a working day for many, some have proposed it should be a holiday in future, allowing more people to actually enjoy the benefits offered.
"I don't have time to take part. It's a pity," said Li Xiaojing, a university teacher in
Shanghai Wednesday. "I've learned that there are so many discounts and activities, but I think most are just for promotional value. I hope next year I can have one day off, at least."
