Prefecture in Xinjiang launches tourism promotion campaign

Xinjiang's Bayingol Mongolian autonomous prefecture promoted its tourism and agricultural products at an event in Beijing on Tuesday with 270 representatives from its leading agricultural products processing enterprises, cooperatives, travel agencies and self-drive clubs attending the event.

The prefecture, which is the largest in China, has many historical sites such as the ruins of Loulan Kingdom and sites of the ancient Silk Road as well as rich natural tourism resources including deserts, forests, grasslands and snow-capped mountains.

According to Duan Xueping, the vice-director of the local tourist office, the prefecture boasts two dozen of 3A and higher rated scenic spots and it has mapped out three major travel routes based on its natural landscape for visitors from home and abroad.

At the event, heads of counties in the area also introduced produce like pear, grape, chili, apricot, potato and cotton in the hope of selling these items to Beijing, Tianjian and Hebei province.

Yin Chengjie,the director of Chinese Association of Agricultural Economics said that the event could help set up a sales platform that connects the remote prefecture to the capital, turning the agricultural and tourism resources into driving forces for its economic development.