IN BRIEF (Page: 12, Date: 10/20/2006)
Tourist source
Russia is becoming Heilongjiang Province’s most important tourist source as border trade and cultural exchange thrive between the two sides, said the Heilongjiang Provincial Tourism Bureau.
Statistics from the bureau showed that more than 530,000 tourists from Russia visited the province from January to August, a year-on- year increase of more than 12 per cent and accounting for 80 per cent of the province’s overseas tourists.
Prospering tourism this year, which saw more than 660,000 overseas visitors in the first eight months, has generated revenue of US$271 million.
Oil technology
The Daqing Oilfield, the country’s most important oil production base in Heilongjiang Province, celebrated its accumulative oil production exceeding 100 million tons earlier this month, a landmark symbolizing its leading position in oil extraction technology in the world.
The oilfield’s unique thrice oil extraction technology, which employs physical, chemical, as well as biological methods to extract the utmost oil, tops the world by claiming a recovery ratio of more than 50 per cent.
The oilfield has reached intent of co-operation with Bahrain and Indonesia in the technology.
Aluminium project
Northeast Light Alloy Co Ltd, one of the country’s major aluminium and magnesium alloy manufacturers, is progressing smoothly with a 2.9 billion yuan (US$362.5 million) project, one of the largest investment projects since the country launched its strategy of rejuvenating the traditional industrial bases in Northeast China in 2003.
The project, which aims to develop the country’s first production line for 3.5-metre-wide aluminium plank, is set to be equipped with the world’s best equipment and technology.
The whole project is anticipated to be put into production in October 2008 with a designed annual production of 200,000 tons of aluminium plank.
It is expected to realize an annual sales income of 4.73 billion yuan (US$591 million) with revenue of 750 million yuan (US$93 million).
Aluminium plank is widely used in the national defence industry, aviation, as well as other fields.
Mineral co-operation
Heihe, a border city in Heilongjiang Province, has reached consensus with the adjacent Amur Region in Russia, to co-operate in reconnaissance and development of the phosphorite mines in the Amur Region.
The phosphorite will be used to produce fertilizers in Heihe.
Experts from the two sides recently met in Heihe to discuss the reserve, quality and distribution situation of the mines in the region.
With Russian phosphorite, Heihe would construct a fertilizer plant with an annual production of 240,000 tons in its industrial park southwest of the city.
Twenty places in the Amur Region were detected to have a rich phosphorite reserve with a total reserve of about 330 million tons, which will be sufficient to meet the demand from its Far East region, Northeast China, the Republic of Korea and Japan in the future for several decades.
Park to open
Dabie Mountain (Liu’an) National Geopark will be unveiled to the public on May Day next year, sources from Liu’an municipal government said.
The government has paid great attention to the geopark’s construction by organizing a special expert team to make thorough research into its geo-tourism resources.
From late April, experts from the Bureau of Geomineral Exploration and Development in Anhui Province and other related units have conducted several field studies on 10 scenic spots of the geopark including the Yanzi River Grand Canyon and Wanxi Rift Valley.
They also mapped out a detailed and practical blueprint for the geopark.
Sources said the geopark needs to mark out its development outline, establish a geo-museum, optimize the major touring routes, erect sign boards, train managers and tour guides of the park, and compile touring publications before its official opening next May.
Eco-tourist destination
The construction of the highway from Muyu Township to Baisha River in the Shennongjia area is in full swing. The project with a total investment of 420 million yuan (US$52.5 million) will be the first highway specially designed for sightseeing in Central China’s Hubei Province.
In the hope of building itself into a first-class ecological tourist destination in China, Shennongjia forest area has undergone an integrated reform and renovation in addition to transportation network construction.
With the theme of ecological tourism, Shennongjia National Natural Reserve has developed a series of new tourist attractions, such as the new Taiziya Valley, Liangfengya Valley, and the Watching Tower.
Through the implementation of a special scientific research project, the golden monkeys are no longer afraid of people and could interact with tourists. Additionally, a botanic garden project has been launched for the protection of precious plants in the Shennongjia area.
At present, the area has the capacity to accommodate 10,000 tourists per day.
According to the local government, the area received 470,000 visitors from home and aboard from January to July this year, a 7.5 per cent rise year-on-year.
World geopark unveiled
Xingwen World Geopark in Yibin in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province recently opened to the public.
The geopark, located in the belt of transition from the south of the Sichuan Basin to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, is renowned for its well-developed Karst physiognomy. Intricate caves, stone forests, and grand valleys are among its most distinctive attractions.
It is in the geopark that Tiankeng (or celestial pit, a kind of Karst physionomy) was first found and is now being studied domestically. With a 650-metre diametre and a 208-metre depth, the Tiankeng in the heart of the geopark is the world’s largest in terms of its two dimensions.
Covering an area of 156 square kilometres, the geopark includes four major attractions: the Stone Sea area, Jiwang Mountain area, Tai’an Stone Forest area and Lingxiao Mountain area.
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