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Residents discover the beauty in their backyard
By Fei Lai |
May 18, 2009, Monday
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HANGZHOU is determined that its beautiful sightseeing spots are not just being admired by visitors from home and abroad. A new promotion means that Hangzhou people can see their own city's delights at a discount. Fei Lai takes a trip. Newcomers to Hangzhou often feel envious of local residents who live as they do in a paradise of pure lakes and succulent greenery. While tourists from all over the world swarm to the capital city of Zhejiang Province for vacation or business, local residents are now also having fun exploring the city.
To encourage more tourism among the locals, Hangzhou government launched a travel promotion for local citizens, starting from the May Day holiday.
It is a peak season for tourism. The promotion means local people can enjoy more discounts and special offers when they spend time in their own city.
One hundred scenic attractions have joined the half price scheme for locals and more venues will be chosen. Hangzhou residents just need to present citizenship cards, permanent residency certificates or ID cards, to enjoy the half price discounts.
And another 200,000 books of discount coupons will be distributed to retired workers, low income families, model workers, volunteers and elementary and high school students. The vouchers and promotion are worth 10.47 million yuan (US$1.53 million).
Nine promotional tourist routes have been announced.
The nine routes include the Tonglu Yaolin Fairyland and Grandma's Kitchen in Red Lantern; Jiande Daci Rock and Xin'an River Dragon Boat Drifting; Chun'an Qiandaohu Lake; Lin'an Tianmu Mountain and Glacier and Stone Village; Lin'an West Zhejiang Canyon; Xiaoshan Oriental Culture Park and Xianghu Lake; Fuyang Longmen Ancient Town and Guanshan Mountain; Yuhang Shangougou Resort; Hangzhou Qianjiang New City.
The promotion will continue till August 31.
Cai Qi, mayor of Hangzhou, hopes that Hangzhou citizens will take the initiative to tour around their hometown, enjoy a better quality life, create a thriving tourism environment and attract more and more tourists from home and abroad, according to Hangzhou Daily.
"What a great May Day holiday this has been! This is the first time I have traveled for 30 years," said a 66-year-old man surnamed Zhou. "I'm happy that I am able to spend a memorable holiday with friends in such good weather."
Wearing the same colored hat as everyone in his group and holding an invitation card, Zhou was one of the 700 Hangzhou residents who participated in the launch for the city's leisure and travel promotion on May 1 at the Hangzhou Tourist Distribution Center.
As the first group of tourists in the promotion, they enjoyed a free one-day tour of sightseeing in Lin'an and Tonglu.
In the crowd, a grandmother, clutching a big bag, stood out. Like a child on a spring outing, she enthusiastically stowed fruit, socks and drinks in her bag.
"I've prepared all of them. I was too excited to go to sleep the night before my trip and I got up very early this morning," said granny Chen. "I never thought about visiting Hangzhou as I could not afford it. Usually, I go to some of the free scenic spots in the city's downtown area. But in the past few years, I've never been taken a tour of the city by bus."
The happy old lady enjoyed herself thoroughly and shared her snacks with her companions.
"The promotion reminds us that we should try to visit scenic spots around Hangzhou. We really appreciate the half price discount a lot," said a resident surnamed Pan, who took his wife and daughter to Qiandaohu Lake.
"The cost has been reduced from 198 yuan to 99 yuan per person. I told my daughter to write a blog after returning from the trip, hoping to record the interesting experiences we have had."
Many new Hangzhou residents were also benefiting from the promotion. Saleswoman Xu Hexian said she used to travel to neighboring provinces rather than to the scenic spots within Hangzhou.
"The West Lake is everything. But apart from that I can hardly name any of the other sightseeing spots. This is a golden opportunity for me to discover more about the city with the half-price offer for the nine tourist routes."
Some special galleries and museums will be chosen and will offer citizens free admission, and another 100 scenic spots in rural areas will offer Hangzhou residents discounts on accommodation and dining.
The tourism hotline of 96123 is available for anyone who wants to make inquiries or reservations.
Luo Chengbi, marketing manager at the Hangzhou Tourist Distribution Center, said more than half of the calls they received were about the discounts.
The enthusiasm of Hangzhou residents has largely exceeded our expectations, officials at the Tonglu Yaolin Fairyland said. "Yaolin Fairyland is a traditional scenic spot. Now I see it has a new vitality with a sharp increase in visitors. The policy is really a win-win one, both for us at scenic spots and for our residents."
To encourage more tourism among the locals, Hangzhou government launched a travel promotion for local citizens, starting from the May Day holiday.
It is a peak season for tourism. The promotion means local people can enjoy more discounts and special offers when they spend time in their own city.
One hundred scenic attractions have joined the half price scheme for locals and more venues will be chosen. Hangzhou residents just need to present citizenship cards, permanent residency certificates or ID cards, to enjoy the half price discounts.
And another 200,000 books of discount coupons will be distributed to retired workers, low income families, model workers, volunteers and elementary and high school students. The vouchers and promotion are worth 10.47 million yuan (US$1.53 million).
Nine promotional tourist routes have been announced.
The nine routes include the Tonglu Yaolin Fairyland and Grandma's Kitchen in Red Lantern; Jiande Daci Rock and Xin'an River Dragon Boat Drifting; Chun'an Qiandaohu Lake; Lin'an Tianmu Mountain and Glacier and Stone Village; Lin'an West Zhejiang Canyon; Xiaoshan Oriental Culture Park and Xianghu Lake; Fuyang Longmen Ancient Town and Guanshan Mountain; Yuhang Shangougou Resort; Hangzhou Qianjiang New City.
The promotion will continue till August 31.
Cai Qi, mayor of Hangzhou, hopes that Hangzhou citizens will take the initiative to tour around their hometown, enjoy a better quality life, create a thriving tourism environment and attract more and more tourists from home and abroad, according to Hangzhou Daily.
"What a great May Day holiday this has been! This is the first time I have traveled for 30 years," said a 66-year-old man surnamed Zhou. "I'm happy that I am able to spend a memorable holiday with friends in such good weather."
Wearing the same colored hat as everyone in his group and holding an invitation card, Zhou was one of the 700 Hangzhou residents who participated in the launch for the city's leisure and travel promotion on May 1 at the Hangzhou Tourist Distribution Center.
As the first group of tourists in the promotion, they enjoyed a free one-day tour of sightseeing in Lin'an and Tonglu.
In the crowd, a grandmother, clutching a big bag, stood out. Like a child on a spring outing, she enthusiastically stowed fruit, socks and drinks in her bag.
"I've prepared all of them. I was too excited to go to sleep the night before my trip and I got up very early this morning," said granny Chen. "I never thought about visiting Hangzhou as I could not afford it. Usually, I go to some of the free scenic spots in the city's downtown area. But in the past few years, I've never been taken a tour of the city by bus."
The happy old lady enjoyed herself thoroughly and shared her snacks with her companions.
"The promotion reminds us that we should try to visit scenic spots around Hangzhou. We really appreciate the half price discount a lot," said a resident surnamed Pan, who took his wife and daughter to Qiandaohu Lake.
"The cost has been reduced from 198 yuan to 99 yuan per person. I told my daughter to write a blog after returning from the trip, hoping to record the interesting experiences we have had."
Many new Hangzhou residents were also benefiting from the promotion. Saleswoman Xu Hexian said she used to travel to neighboring provinces rather than to the scenic spots within Hangzhou.
"The West Lake is everything. But apart from that I can hardly name any of the other sightseeing spots. This is a golden opportunity for me to discover more about the city with the half-price offer for the nine tourist routes."
Some special galleries and museums will be chosen and will offer citizens free admission, and another 100 scenic spots in rural areas will offer Hangzhou residents discounts on accommodation and dining.
The tourism hotline of 96123 is available for anyone who wants to make inquiries or reservations.
Luo Chengbi, marketing manager at the Hangzhou Tourist Distribution Center, said more than half of the calls they received were about the discounts.
The enthusiasm of Hangzhou residents has largely exceeded our expectations, officials at the Tonglu Yaolin Fairyland said. "Yaolin Fairyland is a traditional scenic spot. Now I see it has a new vitality with a sharp increase in visitors. The policy is really a win-win one, both for us at scenic spots and for our residents."
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