Border island prepares for invasion of tourists
Source: Xinhua |
July 16, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Chinese part of a Sino-Russian border island in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province will open to tourists next Wednesday on a trial basis, the provincial authorities said Friday.
The western half of the 335-square km island of Heixiazi belongs to China, while the other half belongs to Russia.
The two countries unveiled boundary markers on the island in 2008, and agreed to jointly develop the island into an eco-tourist zone in November 2010.
The opening ceremony for the tourist island will be held next Wednesday in Fuyuan County, said Liu Xianfu, deputy director of the provincial tourism department at a press conference.
However, "as construction is not fully complete, the facilities on the island cannot completely meet tourists' needs," Liu said.
A plank bridge across the wetlands, catering center and toilets will be finished by Wednesday, but some roads, a river dock, river bridge and Dongji Tower will not, he said.
China and Russia have reached a consensus on how to protect and develop the island, said Song Xibin, director of the provincial Development and Reform Commission. "Ecological protection will take top priority in the island's development."
In China's development plan, a Wetland Nature Reserve will cover an area of 131 square km, or 75 percent of the Chinese share of the island, with the rest to be developed for trade and tourism. The tourism and trade areas mainly include tourist and port services, a Sino-Russia Culture Town and an administrative service center.
A six-hour round-the-island ship tour forms the centerpiece of the tourist attractions to be launched on July 20, which will bring visitors to both Chinese and Russian waters.
A land tour of the island will also take about six hours. Major attractions include a former Russian military camp and the boundary marker No.259, a memorial site for the Sino-Russia agreement signed in 2008. Tourists can also visit China's eastern most border guard post in Wusu County and watch the earliest sunrise in the country.
The western half of the 335-square km island of Heixiazi belongs to China, while the other half belongs to Russia.
The two countries unveiled boundary markers on the island in 2008, and agreed to jointly develop the island into an eco-tourist zone in November 2010.
The opening ceremony for the tourist island will be held next Wednesday in Fuyuan County, said Liu Xianfu, deputy director of the provincial tourism department at a press conference.
However, "as construction is not fully complete, the facilities on the island cannot completely meet tourists' needs," Liu said.
A plank bridge across the wetlands, catering center and toilets will be finished by Wednesday, but some roads, a river dock, river bridge and Dongji Tower will not, he said.
China and Russia have reached a consensus on how to protect and develop the island, said Song Xibin, director of the provincial Development and Reform Commission. "Ecological protection will take top priority in the island's development."
In China's development plan, a Wetland Nature Reserve will cover an area of 131 square km, or 75 percent of the Chinese share of the island, with the rest to be developed for trade and tourism. The tourism and trade areas mainly include tourist and port services, a Sino-Russia Culture Town and an administrative service center.
A six-hour round-the-island ship tour forms the centerpiece of the tourist attractions to be launched on July 20, which will bring visitors to both Chinese and Russian waters.
A land tour of the island will also take about six hours. Major attractions include a former Russian military camp and the boundary marker No.259, a memorial site for the Sino-Russia agreement signed in 2008. Tourists can also visit China's eastern most border guard post in Wusu County and watch the earliest sunrise in the country.
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