As of December last year, UNESCO had designated the Ancient Site of the Peking Man in Zhoukoudian, the Great Wall, the Imperial Place of Beijing Historical Museum, the Chengde linperial Mountain Resort, Dun huang, the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Dynasty, the Confucian Shrine, the Potala Palace, the Leshan Giant Buddha, the Suzhou Garden, the Pingyau Old Town and the Lijang Old Town as world cultural properties.
2. Scenic spots of Mother Nature
China is 9.6 million km2 in area. It is 26 times the size of Japan. It is spacious, and the natural scenery is unusual and beautiful . We have 7 mountains above 8,000 m. Mt. Yulongxueshan (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain), in Yunnan Province is 5,596 m tall and snow-capped all year-round. It is the southernmost (closest to the equator) marine glacier in the northern hemisphere. There are currently 2 cable cars that carry tourist throughout the year. An uncountable number of tourists also visit the Lijang River of Guilin, the Gobi Desert of Xinjiang and grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Places designated world natural treasures by UNESCO include Mt. Huang shan, Wulingyuan, Jiuzhaigou, Mt. Wudang, Mt. Emei, Mt. Tai and Mt. Lu.
3. Places of ethnic and folkloristic interest
China is a multiracial nation with 56 recognized races. Many of China's ethnic minorities live in their own villages and areas. In Yunnan Province alone live 26 different peoples. In their long histories, these ethnic peoples have developed their own customs, culture and art. For example, the Dongba culture of the Naxi people in Yunnan Province still uses Pictograph of writing even today. Another example would be the Azhu marital custom of a matriarchal society of Mosuo people. The intrinsic architecture,clothing and ornaments,folklore and rituals, festivals, religions,music and dancing, and cuisine give China a rich variety of deeply interesting tourism assets.
4. Resort areas and places of leisure
China had never had a resort area. But, that certainly does not mean the country is void of natural resources. For example, the country selected Hainan Island as a tourist resort in 1992 and has, since then, one after another, built 5-star hotels, golf courses, facilities for marine sports such as diving, entertainment facilities and more. Last year, 70,000 tourists visited here from abroad.
Promotion abroad
In order to interest persons overseas in China's rich tourism resources we choose a theme and devise a promotional plan every year. Theme promotion events were "China Landscape '93", "China Heritage '94", "China Folklore '95", "China Holiday Resort 96" "Visit China 97" "China City & Country Tour 98", "Ecotour China '99", "New Millennium China 2000". Moreover, the WTO held its Silk Road Symposium in China in 1996, and we were invited to take part in the PATA summit and convention of 1997, where a great success was scored. Also, every year, we plan a tour for 13 of the largest international tourism associations in the world and we send representatives abroad to explain about tourism in China.
