Liujiang Ancient Town in Sichuan

Located in Hongya County of Sichuan Province, Liujiang Ancient Town was once dominated by a few wealthy families in the old time. Its well-preserved traditional Chinese garden style residences, together with the nearby mountains and the creeks running through the town compose a beautiful landscape picture. (Source: Xinhua)

Taiwan opened to more tourists

Source: By Tan Zongyang in Xiamen, Fujian and Li Wenfang in Guangzhou, Guangdong (China Daily) | Photo: Xinhua

A new travel policy will begin on Saturday to allow residents of six mainland cities - Chongqing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Chengdu - to visit Taiwan individually, not as part of tour groups.

Also on Saturday, 66 individual tourists will leave from Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing to travel to Taiwan, according to Taiwan tourism authorities.

The deal, agreed by tourism authorities from both sides of the Taiwan Straits, is the latest change meant to encourage more mainland tourists to go to the island. In an experiment last year, residents of three mainland cities - Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, in Fujian province - were allowed to make the same types of trips.

About 74,000 people from the mainland have applied so far to travel individually in Taiwan, and more than 400 people applied each day on average in the first three months of the year to take the trips, according to China News Service.

Yue Xuejiao, a 27-year-old travel lover in Chongqing who has been to South Korea, Australia and many countries in the Southeast Asia, said she is ready to explore another overseas destination - Taiwan.

The place Yue has dreamed about going to is Jiufen, also known as Jioufen, a village in the hills near Keelung, in northeast Taiwan. Two years ago, she had met a couple of Taiwan travelers who had sent her a postcard showing a view of distinct, old houses. It was the setting used in A City of Sadness, a Taiwan movie that won a Golden Lion, the highest award at the Venice Film Festival.

"I was looking forward to going there but never made it because I could only visit the island in tour groups," the Chongqing resident said.

In the past, many of the people who went to Taiwan as part of group tours were middle-aged or elderly. But as the opportunity to travel there individually becomes open to more and more, the young are the ones showing the greatest enthusiasm for the trips, according to travel agencies in Guangzhou.

Most of the tourists who have signed up for the new travel option are between the ages of 20 and 35. Many said they are traveling with friends to learn about trends in music, books and design or to go shopping and bicycling on the island, according to Nanhu International Travel Service, one of the six travel agencies in Guangzhou permitted to arrange individual tours to Taiwan.

Saturday will see the journey start for the first batch of 15 tourists who, under the new policy, have signed up for a tour of the island through the Guangdong branch of China Travel Services.

"This policy will give a boost to less-traveled scenic spots and specialty routes," said Wang Jun, deputy director of the agency.

Qiao Huaxiang, manager of the Taiwan-bound travel business at the Chongqing Yangtze River Traveling Co, said individual tours, as a supplement to group tours, can help to make trips to the island more frequent.

"We recommend that tourists visit Taiwan the first time in groups to gain a general understanding and then take individual tours the next time," he said.

He said Taiwan has now become Chongqing residents' favorite travel destination.

Public security bureaus in the six cities said individual residents have to obtain an entry permit before they go to Taiwan, which allows them to stay for up to 15 days on the island. Current plans also call for the residents of four other mainland cities - Jinan, Xi'an, Fuzhou and Shenzhen - to be permitted to visit Taiwan individually before the end of the year.

China Eastern Air Said Close to Ordering 20 Boeing 777s

Source: Bloomberg News By Thomas Black

Boeing Co. (BA) reached an agreement to sell 20 long-range 777 jets, the planemaker’s most-profitable model, to China Eastern Airlines Corp. in a deal with a list value of about $6 billion.

China Eastern’s board approved the purchase along with the sale of five Airbus SAS A340 four-engine planes, according to a filing today with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Both transactions are subject to ratification by shareholders, said China Eastern, the country’s second-biggest airline.

Chinese airlines have become large customers for Boeing and Airbus as the nation’s economic growth spurs travel demand. The country will probably order 5,000 planes in the 20 years ending 2030, according to a forecast from Chicago-based Boeing.

The 777 deal requires approval from the Chinese government, and the planemaker won’t post it as an order until regulators act, said Miles Kotay, a Boeing spokesman. China Eastern didn’t release terms on the acquisition of the 20 twin-engine planes, and airlines typically buy at a discount to list prices.

A340 Production Ended

China Eastern’s fleet number 377 planes at the end of 2011, split mostly between Boeing and Airbus jets, according to the carrier’s annual report.

The airline is planning to sell the five A340s after Airbus said in November it ended production of the model. The aircraft, which started service in 1993, was the shortest-lived program for the world’s largest maker of commercial aircraft as customers preferred Boeing’s twin-engine 777.

Rising fuel prices have reduced the attractiveness of four- engine aircraft, such as the A340 and Boeing’s 747 jumbo jets.

The twin-aisle 777 carries 400 passengers in a typical two- class setup and can seat as many as 440, Boeing said on its website, and has the range to nonstop routes such as London to Los Angeles. Last year’s net orders for the 777 totaled 200, up from 76 in 2010 and the most since at least 2003.

The 777 entered service in 1995, and was the company’s most advanced aircraft until last year’s commercial debut of the 787 Dreamliner. The 777-300ER variant has become the most popular type and is powered solely by General Electric Co.’s GE90 engines.

Boeing’s biggest customers, including Emirates Airline and British Airways Plc, are pushing the planemaker to announce a successor to the 777-300 as they plan for the replacement of older planes by the end of this decade.

Yichang, Hubei province

Yichang, with its history, culture and natural beauty, is worth exploring

The second largest city in Hubei province, central China, Yichang is blessed and cursed with its proximity to the Three Gorges Dam.
Lying on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it is just 40 kilometers from the world's largest dam project, which attracts visitors from China and abroad, most of whom bypass the city on their way to see it.

Yichang, which at one time was the gateway to the Yangtze River, is used by the majority of tourists simply as the end point of a Three Gorges river cruise and seldom seen as an attraction in itself or a point for launching trips further downstream.

Three-night river cruises from Chongqing to Yichang, usually end with a rapid exit to Wuhan and other major cities without even a night in Yichang.

But the city offers a wealth of attractions for visitors to explore, with a history that stretches back 4,000 years. Among them are numerous historical and cultural spots, as well as scenes of natural beauty that could have come straight out of a work of art.

It is the birthplace of Chu culture, the hometown of the famous Chinese beauty Wang Zhaojun who lived during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) and of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan from the Warring States Period (475-221BC).

Using its proximity to the Three Gorges Dam as leverage, Yichang now hopes to draw tourists in to experience its abundant attractions in an effort to boost tourism to the city by 2020.

Here are some of Yichang's main attractions:

1. Qingjiang River

This national forest park is fast becoming one of Yichang's more popular tourist attractions. Located in Changyang Tujia Ethnic Group Autonomous County of Yichang, it was named one of China's 5A-class scenic spots, the nation's top level, in January 2013.

In fact, Qingjiang River encompasses all the scenic spots between Geheyan Dam and Yanchi Spring along the Qingjiang River.

The river originates in Longdonggou, an area of Lichuan city in western Hubei province, and flows through Enshi county, Changyang county, and Badong county, before emptying into the Yangtze River.

There is an old Chinese saying that "The 800-li Qingjiang River is as beautiful as a painting." (Li is a unit of length equal to 0.5 kilometers) The area is famous for its magnificent mountains and rivers and offers great opportunities for hiking or boat trips.

Qingjiang River is also regarded as the mother river of the Tujia people who live in the area. The Tujia are known for their singing and traditional Baishou Dance, a 500-year-old collective dance that uses 70 ritual gestures to represent war, farming, hunting, courtship and other aspects of traditional life. Regular performances are put on for visitors

2. The Three-Gorges Tribe Scenic Spot

The Three-Gorges Tribe Scenic Spot, also known as the Three Gorges Household, is officially designated as a "Protected Center of the Popular Culture and Art of the Three Gorges".

Located in Xiling Gorge, between the Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba Dam, the mountains and streams here create a scene worthy of the most beautiful landscape paintings.

Lying in the "Two Dams, One Gorge" tourism area, it is the only scenic spot in the region unaffected by the dams.

The spot has three main areas - the village on the water, the brook-side village and the mountaintop village - and is one the top 10 tourist attractions in Hubei province.

The area is blessed with abundant cultural and natural attractions. The first sight on entering it is of green mountains covered by mist against a backdrop of shimmering blue water.

For generations local people have lived off the mountains and water here, and visitors are likely to see young women singing as they pass by on sailboats, men casting nets into the water to catch fish, or women washing clothes by the riverside.

3. Three Visitors Cave and Park

Also known as Sanyou Cave, Three Visitors Cave and Park is around 10 kilometers from Yichang.

The cave wall is inscribed with poetry with a story behind it. It is said that Bai Juyi, one of China's greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), his younger brother and Yuan Zhen, another well-known poet of the time, spent some time in the cave and while there Bai inscribed a poem on the wall. This story then inspired other poets and scholars to go to the cave to inscribe their own poetry.

Also worth taking a look at in the park are views of the Yangtze River, old military defense walls, some ancient city remains and a pavilion with views of the river.

Source: China Daily

China is the world's largest outbound tourism market

China has officially become the world's largest outbound tourism market, after overtaking Germany and the US last year with an estimated 83 million overseas trips made by Chinese mainlanders, according to CRI Online — the website of state broadcaster China Radio International, citing China Tourism Academy in its 2013 report released on Wednesday.

Chinese tourists spent US$102 billion offshore last year, totalling 83 million tourists, over 18% more than the previous year and equal to the population of Germany, and four times that of Australia, said Jiang Yiyi, a leading researcher at the academy.

The country's outbound tourism has seen a lot of changes, said Jiang, including the steady rise in the number of tourists wanting to explore outside of the country and to regions outside of Asia, adding that people's economic situation has also improved.

Jiang projects China's outbound tourists this year will grow 15% to 94.3 million, and their spending to increase to 20% and US$118 billion.

Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said many foreign countries have relaxed restrictions on Chinese tourists, allowing them greater freedom to visit new countries. Last year, Australia approved 94% of visa for Chinese individuals and business tourists, a record high. The US has also increase the amount of visas approved to Chinese tourists by 40% with plans to process visa applications for 2.2 million Chinese nationals this year alone, Dai added.

China's outbound tourism accounts for a significant proportion of the global travel market and has become a new engine for growth. But many Chinese tourists have reported consumer fraud and expressed dissatisfaction at high traveling prices, and insufficient Chinese-language services, said Dai, adding that he hopes the international community can do more to offer better services.

The report also included a customer satisfaction survey with Chinese tourists giving an average satisfaction rating of 78.07 for their experience overseas or averagely satisfied. The survey focused on 22 foreign destinations, with Canada receiving the highest satisfaction level, followed by Italy, Spain and New Zealand.

Source: Want China Times

The old town of Phoenix

The old town of Phoenix is like an impressive community living on the banks of the Tuojiang River.  The town is situated on the western boundary of Hunan Province.

The unique lifestyle has long fascinated visitors, as has the town's enchanting scenery and peaceful atmosphere. It's free to enter the old town but some cultural relic buildings and notable residents' homes still have admission charges.

Source: Photo/bbs.fengniao

Chinese airlines’ profits hurt by weaker travel demand

Chinese airlines are seeing their profits fall as travel demand weakens amid higher fuel prices and slower economic growth.

Air China Ltd. (601111.SH), China's biggest carrier by market value, reported an 85.7 percent drop in net income to 239 million yuan during the first quarter.

Another state-owned carrier, China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. (600029.SH), the nation's biggest by fleet size, saw its Q1 net income tumble by 74 percent to 319 million yuan.

Both carriers said their seat occupancy rates were sharply down from the same period last year, as fleet size expansion came during a period of weakening travel demand.

Q1 profits were down also in part due to smaller foreign exchange gains after the yuan halted advances against the U.S. dollar that had pared the value of debts from buying aircrafts.

Air China said its currency gains in Q1 were 586 million yuan less than a year earlier.

China Eastern Airlines Co. Ltd. (600115.SH), another one of China's three state-owned carriers, said it expected its profit to fall by more than 50 percent for the first 3 months of the year.

Despite its profit warning, China Eastern continues to expand its fleet size and is said to be buying 20 Boeing 777 aircraft worth a combined $6 billion.
Source: 21 Century Business Herald

Indonesia eyes more Chinese visitors

JAKARTA - Indonesia intends to double tourist arrivals from China by 2014 as bilateral relations have developed rapidly in recent years, Indonesia's Tourism Minister Mari Elka Pangestu has said.

Indonesia would like to have more flights to China, with the aim of attracting 1 million tourists from the world's second largest economy by 2014, the minister told Xinhua ahead of a Chinese leader's visit to the country.

Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is currently on a four-nation overseas tour.

The Chinese leader has visited Britain, Canada and Colombia and is expected to arrive in Indonesia on Thursday. The visit will last till Saturday.

To attract more Chinese tourists, Indonesia's leading carrier PT Garuda Indonesia has opened an office in Beijing and is planning to provide daily Jakarta-Beijing flights.

Pangestu, who is of Chinese origin, said the weakening global economy would not have a significant impact on the country's tourism industry as the government has diversified its market to emerging economies in Asia.

"We will see that Asia would not be significantly impacted by the global economic crisis. We will boost our promotion to penetrate the market in Asia, such as China, South Korea, India and Russia."

The tourism industry has been the third biggest revenue generator for Indonesia after energy and palm oil industries. The number of tourists from China coming into Indonesia was around 470,000 in 2011, according to Indonesian official figures.

Indonesia has been working hard to boost the competitiveness of its tourism industry that may become a new engine of economic growth.

Jakarta has asked the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to speed up implementation of a common visa for the 10-nation bloc in a bid to boost tourism.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago country with 17,508 islands, boasts cultural and ethnic diversity, natural sights and historical heritage.

The beauty and uniqueness of the island country attracted 7.65 million foreign holidaymakers last year, higher than the 7 million people in the previous year, according to the statistic agency.

Pangestu said this year Indonesia is expecting 8 million foreign tourists and the number could reach 9.5 million in 2014.

Bali island is the center of the country's tourism industry, and the Komodo dragon island is the habitat for the world's largest living species of lizards, which was declared last year as one of the world's new seven wonders by the World Seven Wonder Foundation.

The world's largest temple of Borobudur in Yogyakarta province, the beauty of coral reef in Bunaken of South Sulawesi and Lombok island, have also attracted many foreign tourists.

The country also has tourism destinations linked with the expedition of historic Chinese marine explorer and diplomat fleet admiral Cheng Ho, or Zheng He, who sailed to Indonesia over 606 years ago, years before Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean looking for a sea route to Asia.

There are three mosques named "Cheng Ho Mosques" scattered around Indonesia to commemorate his visit.

Source: Xinhua

Qufu, the hometown of Confucius

Qufu is famed for its association with confucius but most visitors overlook three peaks nearby that hold natural beauty, legends and strong ties to philosopher

For visitors to Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, a trip to the Three Kongs, the temple, the mansion and cemetery associated with the great philosopher, is almost obligatory.

But what most travelers overlook are three equally impressive mountains and hills that surround the city and off er respite from the tourist hordes.

The three mountains and hills of Qufu are worth a visit for their natural beauty alone, but they also hold historical and cultural treasures that make the climb a must.

1. Nishan Hill

While Qufu is famed as the city of Confucius, it was in fact on Nishan Hill that the man whose ideas have shaped China is said to have been born, in a three-meter deep cave called Kunling at the foot of the hill.

According to legend the baby Confucius was abandoned shortly after birth because his mother thought he was ugly, but was rescued by a tiger and an eagle, which later made the mother take him back.

Higher than Kunling Cave and to the west is River Watching Pavilion, from where Confucius is supposed to have watched the river fl owing and gasped at how rapidly earthly life changes.

The hill is also home to a Confucian temple that houses an old lecture hall used today solely for venerating the philosopher.

Behind the lecture hall is an earthen hall, which in ancient China was a common construction used for honoring the God of the Earth. Here, Confucius is said the have received help from the God of the Earth on his way to becoming a saint.

The educational center Nishan Academy on the hill was a site of scholarly discussion for centuries and still serves a similar purpose with school visits on occasions.

2. Nine Fairy Mountain

Like many picturesque mountains across China, Nine Fairy Mountain is associated with legend.

The story goes that the nine fairy maidens of the Queen Mother of the West escaped to the mountain while the Queen Mother was happily drunk during her birthday party. Angry at their departure, the Queen Mother then transformed the fairy maidens into nine peaks.

Today the mountain is dotted with brooks, fruit trees and agricultural land, and is a source of many medicinal herbs, no doubt having grown with the help of the nine fairies.

In ancient China, the mountain was home to many religious groups that have left their mark in the form of temples, including Confucianists, Daoists and Buddhists.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) an annual temple fair was started on the mountain in spring, drawing hundreds of peddlers, incense burners and performers. The temple fair later came to a halt during times of social unrest, but was restored by the local government in the 1990s along with several historical sites.

At the highest reaches of the mountain is the Bixia Ancestral Temple. Bixia was, according to legend, a fairy who did many kind deeds and whom local people called "grandma". A statue of Bixia stands in the temple's main hall.

Behind the temple are three stones said to emanate coolness even during the hottest summer day, making this a pleasant place to take a break.

On the northeastern section of the mountain is Phoenix Hill. With an elevation of 548 meters it is the tallest peak in Qufu.

Across the mountain it is not uncommon to see fruit laid out in the sun, including pears, dates, peaches and pomegranates. Even at harvest time in late autumn people often do this to satisfy a local liking for dried fruit.

3. Stone Gate Mountain

Stone Gate Mountain has 14 peaks, two of which sit opposite each other, creating the gate shape that gives the mountain its name. The mountain is divided into three main areas: Stone Gate Temple, Peach Dock and Yellow Mountain.

Of the 14 peaks, Shenghan Peak is the tallest at 406 meters. It is also well known for its caves and links with ancient philosophers and poets.

Confucius and his students frequented the mountain and used it as a place to study. The poets Li Bai and Du Fu also toured the mountain together.

More than 90 of the mountain is covered with forest, making its' 6 square kilometers a natural oxygen bar.

Source: China Daily

Chinese Star Shoots Movie in Israel to Boost Tourism

Chinese star Zhang Jingchu stands with her back to Judaism’s Western Wall and Islam’s Al-Aqsa mosque after shooting scenes for the film “Old Cinderella” at Christianity’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

“It is amazing that we can end this movie, which is a love story and romantic comedy, here,” she says. “I’m overwhelmed by all the people I’ve encountered.”

It is in Jerusalem, home to sites holy to the three monotheistic religions, that her character, a recently divorced tour guide, refinds her faith in life.

The Chinese production company is filming in Israel after receiving a 300,000 shekel ($83,000) investment from the government that the Tourism Ministry hopes will increase the number of tourists from one of the world’s fastest growing markets.

“We are investing in marketing, hosting journalists and have opened an agency in China. We want to put Israel on the map there,” says Sofia Prizant Pinkas, head of the Tourism Ministry’s China desk.

The star of “Old Cinderella,” who recently played the ambassador’s daughter in “Rush Hour 3,” says her friends were worried when they heard her newest job would take her to Israel.

Jerusalem's Old City, where Zhang was standing, is at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has seen its share of violence. The Old City is in east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move never recognized internationally. Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a state.
Zhang said her friends' concern was out of place.

Amazing Beauty

“They said, ‘isn’t it dangerous?’ and then I sent photos and blogs back with the Dead Sea and other things and now they say, ‘that is so beautiful, it is an amazing place,’” says Zhang. “If we show it on the screen, the audience is going to say, maybe next holiday we will go to Israel.”

So impressed was she and the production company by the musicians and artists they met on the street, that they plan to incorporate the encounters into the movie, she says.

Tourism from China to Israel jumped 49 percent to nearly 20,000 visitor arrivals in the past two years, growing nearly twice as fast as the almost 20 percent growth for all of Asia, according to Tourism Ministry figures. The number of visitors from Europe increased by only 3 percent in the same period.

“The tourism potential for Israel from China is far from realized and one of the goals of the ministry for 2013 is to break into the Chinese market,” former tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov said in March.

Open Skies

Israel’s tourist industry was hit by a week-long conflict with Gaza in November 2012, which the ministry said has slowed reservations. The Cabinet this week approved an Open Skies agreement with the European Union that the Tourism Ministry said will raise incoming tourism by hundreds of thousands.

Tourism brings in about 36 billion shekels from indirect and direct revenue, with income from foreign currency standing at $4.8 billion in 2012, according to the Tourism Ministry.

According to Tourism Competitive Intelligence research, last year about 40 million international tourists chose their destination mostly because they saw a film shot in the country. About 8 million Chinese selected their destination according to what they saw in the movies, the Israeli ministry said.

The investment “is the best value for the money,” Tourism Ministry Director General Noaz Bar Nir told Bloomberg TV. “We want to double, and even more, the number of tourists this year. Maybe after this movie, the numbers will rise to hundreds of thousands of Chinese to Israel.”

Last year, according to the China Tourism Academy, 83 million Chinese traveled abroad, spending about $105 billion. The academy expects as many as 94 million Chinese to travel abroad this year. Tourism makes up about 2 percent of Israel’s gross domestic product, which largely depends on exports.

Source: Bloomberg News By Gwen Ackerman & Elliott Gotkine

Amzing scenery of Jinggang Mountain in Jiangxi province

Located in the Luoxiao Mountains, Jinggang Mountain is the "cradle of the Chinese revolution", and has become a hot attraction for natural travel as well as patriotic education.

Covering an area of 213.5 square kilometers, Jinggang Mountain accounts for 32.4 percent of Jinggangshan City. It has dozens of residences and sites of the revolution, of which 10 are under the protection of the State Council. It also boasts more than 60 attractions, including hot springs, caves, waterfalls, mountains and precious animals and plants. (Source: china.org.cn)

China Faces Glut of High-end Hotels

Summary：Policies aimed at reining in housing prices have pushed many local governments to develop commercial property projects and it's become standard to include a 5-star hotel managed by an internationally-recognized brand as part of these new developments.

Every four days a new international-brand hotel is built in China, according to a report by the China Tourist Hotel Association.

One of the factors driving this growth in the number of 5-star hotels is the central government's efforts to rein in soaring housing prices in many Chinese cities. Strict policies that put limits on the kind of housing projects that can be developed are pushing many local governments to consider developing commercial property projects instead. It has become standard practice to include a 5-star hotel managed by an internationally-recognized brand as part of these new commercial developments.

For local governments, a luxury hotel enhances the reputation of the city and also creates tax revenue and jobs. The construction of a high-end hotel as part of a commercial property project is often a pre-condition that planners impose on developers in exchange for awarding them a lease on the land.

In China, it normally takes 8 to 12 years for a five-star hotel to start making a profit. However, it's not a business calculation that’s motivating real estate developers to decide to invest in a luxury hotel project.

"Most hotels are losing money, but profits can be made off other areas aside from the hotels,” a Shanghai based developer told the EO. “If you build a skyscraper, mall or luxury hotel in a third or fourth-tier city, in return the local government will offer discounts on the price of land or tax concessions. You can also use the profits from selling the related commercial properties to invest in the hotel project and thus also avoid having to pay tax."

Hotel Chains Also Keen to Expand

At the same time, international hotel management companies are turning their focus to China. For example, Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International, Inc. both plan to increase the number of hotels in China to 100 by 2015. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) has also vowed to double the number of hotels it operates in China over the coming 3 to 5 years. Even Hyatt Hotels Corporation, usually known for its prudent strategy, has forty hotel projects under construction in China.

Almost three quarters of all the hotels opened in China last year were five-star hotels. By the start of 2013 there were already 721 five-star hotels operating in the country.

Risks of Oversupply

However, falling occupancy rates and prices are exposing the risk of oversupply.

The average occupancy rate in Hong Kong and Singapore is around 80 percent while in most Chinese cities the figure is somewhere between 50 to 60 percent.

Hotels are normally said to be profitable if the occupancy rate is above 70 percent. Statistics from the China 
Tourist Hotel Association reveal that the average occupancy rate of internationally-branded hotels in China is close to 53 percent.

Despite the risks, many hotel management companies are still pushing ahead with plans to expand. These management companies believe that demand will soon catch up with supply.

However, analysts say that a shortage of trained staff and a drop in profitability are reducing the operating efficiency of these hotel brands. Some argue that the pursuit of short-term profit will harm the long-term interests of both the hotel brands and investors.

Government Austerity Drive

The industry is also said to be vulnerable to recent efforts to rein in spending by government officials on extravagant items and services such as expensive meals, Baijiu and luxury hotels.

Zhao Huanyan (赵焕焱), an expert from the Huamei Hotel Consulting Company, said, "The situation is even worse in those smaller cities where most of the consumption at these hotels comes from the government."

Source: The Economic Observer by Chen Zhe

Beautiful scenery of Three Gorges

Beautiful scenery of Three Gorges  (Source: Sina)

Palace Museum spruces up

Beijing's Palace Museum launched an eight-year campaign this week to remove all potential safety hazards, part of preparations for the imperial palace's 600th anniversary celebrations in 2020.

The museum, commonly known as the Forbidden City, houses 1.8 million cultural relics.

According to director Shan Jixiang, the 170,000-sq-m complex is vulnerable to fire, theft and earthquake as well as natural wear and tear.

"Our project will guarantee the safety of the architecture, the relics and the 15 million visitors who come here from all around the world every year," he said.

In the short term, Shan said, work will focus on eliminating threats from theft, extreme weather and stampedes by 2015, the 90-year anniversary of the Forbidden City's conversion into a public museum.

He said the first and most important work that needs to be done is the construction of the museum's north branch.

The Palace Museum owns a 476,000-sq-m site in northwestern Haidian district, 40 km from the city center.

The site, which used to be a brick kiln until 1997, will house a cultural heritage repair center in three to five years, part of which will be open to the public. There will also be an exhibition space, a greenhouse and a digital center.

There are also major plans for the main Palace Museum site. Its 22,000-sq-m underground storerooms will be enlarged by 6,000 sq m, and will feature modifications that automatically adjust the temperature and humidity.

In three years, all the academic institutes currently situated in the museum's Red Wall area will move to its southwest corner.

A new security system will be completed by the end of this year, and a new fire control system will be installed by the end of 2014.

Armed police will replace the museum's security guards, and smoking will be forbidden for all staff members.

The museum will also open and utilize more space for exhibitions. A 28,000-sq-m space in its southern area, including the Meridian Gate and the Goose Wing Buildings, will be put to use this year as exhibition space.

The same area will host a major exhibition in 2015 to celebrate the museum's 90th anniversary. Other areas will also be used for different purposes — for instance, the Imperial Kitchen will become a hall to exhibit ancient furniture, and the uncompleted Western-style Palace of Prolonging Happiness will display Western antiques.

A digital museum outside the Palace Museum's northern gate is being designed.

There will also be training workshops in traditional handicrafts such as the mounting of paintings and calligraphy.

Meanwhile, Shan said, routine repairs and maintenance will continue to be carried out. For example, the three-year restoration of the Xianruo Hall will be completed this year.

The safety project will be completed by 2020, when the Forbidden City is 600 years old, at the same time as the ongoing major repair project that was started since 2002.

"The project is a significant cultural construction, which will improve the Palace Museum's abilities in cultural heritage preservation, demonstration and public service, realizing its sustainable development," Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said when visiting the museum on Tuesday.

Source: By Zhang Zizuan (China Daily)

Forbidden city to open earlier during May-day holiday

BEIJING - The Palace Museum, more popularly known as Forbidden City, will open one hour earlier during the May-day holiday from April 29 to May 1, according to a statement issued by the museum on Friday.

According to the new schedule, the Forbidden City will start receiving tourists from 7:30 am and close at 5:00 pm during the nation's three-day holiday marking the International Workers' Day, a measure to accommodate the anticipated dramatic rise in visitor numbers.

The museum will also install nine more ticket booths during the holiday, taking the total number to 25. Certain booths are specifically for package tour groups, a measure designed to help avoid long queues.

Additionally, the museum will also exercise temporary flow control measures according to real-time monitoring of tourist flows, but those who book tickets online (gugong.228.com.cn) will be let in first, according to the statement.

The museum also announced that emergency plans were in place, to deal with fires, robbery, stampedes or other potential public security incidents.

The statement said that the Forbidden City received a total of 235,900 visitors during last year's May-Day holiday (April 30 to May 2), with an average of 80,000 visitors per day, doubling the average number of visitors in non-holiday period.

China's three-day May-day holiday, which falls around May 1st each year, usually results in a massive flow of population, as many take the opportunity to travel or go back to their hometowns.

Source: Xinhua

Fayuan Buddhist Temple in Beijing

Situated south of Jiaozi Alley outside Xuanwumen, Fayuan Temple is the oldest ancient Buddhist temple in Beijing. It also houses the China Buddhist Association, the China Buddhism Institution and the China Buddhism Library and Relic Center, thus serving as an important venue for nurturing young monks and Buddhist research. (Source:China.org.cn)

Beauty of Fujian Tulou

Photos taken on April 16, 2012 shows Tianluokeng Tulou cluster in Nanjing County, Fujian Province. Fujian Tulou is a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka and Minnan people in the mountainous areas in Fujian Province. From the 12th century to 19th century, armed bandits plagued southern China and the people of Fujian first built strongholds on top of mountains as a defense. These early strongholds later evolved into Fujian Tulou. The layout of Fujian Tulou followed the Chinese dwelling tradition of "closed outside, open inside" concept: an enclosure wall with living quarters around the peripheral and a common courtyard at the center. A Tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most commonly rectangular or circular in configuration, with very thick load-bearing rammed earth walls between three and five stories high and housing up to 100 families. A total of 46 Fujian Tulou sites have been inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. (Xinhua/Wang Song)