A THRIVING INDUSTRY

Ningxia’s efforts to develop region-wide tourism were lauded by President Xi Jinping when he came on an inspection visit in July 2016. Xi spoke highly of the strategy and said it should be continued, boosting the region’s confidence. In September 2016, the China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit and the Second National Region-Wide Tourism Promotion Conference, were held in regional capital Yinchuan and Ningxia was approved by the National Tourism Administration to be the second region to build a demonstration zone for region-wide tourism, following the island province of Hainan in south China.

In recent years, Ningxia has promoted region-wide tourism to grow its economy in- novatively, alleviate poverty, and protect the environment. As of the end of 2017, 31.03 mil- lion tourist trips had been made to the region and the region’s tourism industry revenue had reached 27.8 billion yuan ($4.4 billion), both of which realized a year-on-year growth of over 20 percent for the fi rst time in 10 years. Revenue from the tourism industry accounted for more than 8 percent of the region’s GDP and tourism became one of the strategic pillar industries of the region.

The regional Communist Party of China committee and government have worked together to develop tourism with a number of new initiatives. For instance, Ningxia was the first to come up with the region-wide tourism concept that calls for incorporating tourism into overall economic and social development. The pan-Ningxia tourism development model, which involves devel- oping all kinds of scenic spots, integrating the tourism industry with other industries, making tourism services available for all seasons throughout the year and mobilizing all parties such as the government, enter- prises and individuals to develop tourism, has won the recognition of the National Tourism Administration. Ningxia proposed to build the region as a whole scenic spot and formulated important documents including Ningxia’s Tourism Development Plan for the 13th Five-Year Period (2016-20) and the Guideline on Accelerating the Construction of Region-Wide Tourism Demonstration Zone, setting the goal of developing its tourism industry into one worth 100 billion yuan ($15.8 billion). Ningxia is also regarded as a role model for the “toilet revolution,” a nationwide campaign launched in 2015 to build more public toilets and renovate exist- ing ones, especially at tourist destinations. Ningxia has launched a campaign to improve its tourism services. Fan Cheng, a tour guide from Ningxia, won silver at the National Tour Guide Competition, the only contestant from the fi ve northwestern provinces and regions to make it to the top 10 nationwide and Ningxia’s tourism market order was ranked the best in China. Ningxia has launched a 199-yuan ($31) entry card that can be used to visit 42 scenic spots an unlimited number of times, which dispenses with the bother of having to buy tickets to these places.

Ningxia endeavors to upgrade the tourism industry. The region has invested 39 billion yuan ($6 billion), developing over 540 tourism projects. New tourist destinations have been developed, such as the Tanxi Valley Water World, the River Origins Art Town, the Helan Mountains 1958 Innovative Industrial Park and Ruixin Spa Town. Development of the Jinsha Island Resort in the Tengger Desert and the Yellow River Valley-Yellow River Monument Scenic Area has been accelerated. Winter tourism is also becom- ing popular.

Ningxia has strengthened the promo- tion of its tourism. The region has come up with slogans such as “Ningxia—North China’s Equivalent of Hainan,” “Let’s go to Ningxia to have a break,” and “Go to Hainan in winter and Ningxia in summer” to promote Ningxia’s tour- ism. The region has also showcased its tourism resources through short fi lms such as A Short Travel in Ningxia and Looking for Love. The local government has cooperated with Ningxia Radio and Television Station to establish the region’s fi rst broadcasting channel dedicated to tourists on FM 103.7, which has become an important platform for exchanging information with media outlets outside of the region. Several tourism-themed trains have been introduced, including the Silk Road Station—Ningxia, the Silk Road Station—Yinchuan, and the Silk Road Station—Sand Lake. Using both traditional and new media, over 100 promotional campaigns have been held in Ningxia’s major domestic sources of tourists including Beijing and Shaanxi Province.

The region has also held a series of com- petitions to select the 10 most characteristic streets, shops and snacks of Ningxia, the 10 best video clips promoting local tourism, the top 10 tour guides, the top 10 instructors as well as 100 stars that provide the best tourism services. A series of night markets and streets such as the Ningxia Dayuecheng Night Market, Ruixin Snack Street and Hui Minority Food Market showcase the distinctive features of Ningxia tourism.

Yinchuan was rated as one of the 10 demonstration tourist cities in China at the Third National Region-Wide Tourism Promotion Conference in 2017, while the Yanchi Section of the Great Wall has been authorized to launch a national-level demon- stration project for general aviation tourism. The Shapotou Scenic Area in Zhongwei was recognized as a premium sports tourism project in 2016. There are historical and cul- tural destinations as well. Ningxia is closely associated with the Long March, the famous military maneuver carried out by the Red Army led by the Communist Party of China from 1934 to 1936. The Liupan Mountains Long March Scenic Area in Guyuan and the Jiangtaipu Long March Park are among the 20 most popular Long March commemora- tive spots in the country. Six bases have been established to develop tourist products and 100 merchandise items are being manufactured as specialties. Tourism merchandise such as the Belt and Road Initiative-themed sand painting has won prizes at the 2016 National Tourism Merchandise Competition and the Second Cross-Straits Tourist Cultural and Creative Merchandise Contest. The souvenir package consisting of the Qingcheng woolen scarf and the Jiangxin Helan Mountains stone won the nomination of the China industrial design prize. Consumption in tourism is growing exponen- tially and tourists are swarming to the region.