Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    ANSHUN, a prefecture-level city in Guizhou Province and home to the Huangguoshu Waterfall, the largest waterfall in Asia, inked 40 deals worth 26.1 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion) yesterday at an investment invitation and tourism promotion meeting held in Nanshan District.

    The projects include the construction of the Guanling County Huangguoshu International Resort, a hotel, a tourism project of Hongqi Lake in Zhenning County and a tourism school in Guanling County.

    At the meeting yesterday that attracted more than 300 representatives from enterprises in Shenzhen and Guangzhou and 50 travel agencies, Anshun and Shenzhen also signed an agreement promoting tourism.

    “Traveling to Huangguoshu Water Fall Scenic Area is just the beginning of the all-region trip to know about Anshun City, one of China’s top tourism cities which has two 5A scenic spots and six 4A scenic areas. The tourism areas, around 950 square kilometers, account for 12 percent of the whole area of the city. It has become a destination for leisure traveling,” Anshun Mayor Zeng Yongtao said at the meeting.

    Three stations in Anshun will be operational after the opening of the Shanghai-Kunming High-speed Rail. Travelers from Guangzhou and Shenzhen can reach Anshun in four to five hours.

    “Shenzhen has been a target market for Anshun and the opening of the Guizhou-Guangzhou High-speed Rail had brought the two cities closer,” Hu Jihong, deputy Anshun Party chief, said in an interview, adding the city is promoting an all-region travel program to attract visitors.

    “The all-region tourism is based around the Huangguoshu Waterfall and supported by other tourism attractions including Tianlong Tunbao (a historic town) and the Getu River which has a typical Karst landscape,” said Hu.

    Anshun has a history dating back to the Western Han Dynasty around 200 B.C. Traveling in the Tianlong Tunbao ancient town, visitors can feel the unique Tunbao culture. People living in Tunbao are descendants of ethnic Han people who were part of an army sent on an expedition to Guizhou during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.