Limestone mine to be part of tourism complex in Dalian

Wang Jianlin, chairman and president of Dalian Wanda Group Co, gestures as he speaks during a panel session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Jan 18, 2017.[Photo/VCG]

An abandoned limestone mine in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province, will be incorporated into a tourism complex to be built by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group Co.

Dalian Tourism Bureau director Li Jingping said construction of the project costing several million yuan would begin later this year.

Covering an area of?three square kilometers, the project will include a hotel, a sizeable botanical garden, a stadium with a capacity of 60,000 and a Wanda shopping mall.

"Such a tourism complex will meet the overall requirements of tourists for dining, lodging, shopping and entertainment," Li said.

Li said the project will be a new driver for Dalian's tourism. It is expected to attract 12 million tourists annually when it is completed.

The abandoned limestone mine is located in an area linking the new and the old urban district of Dalian. Opened in 1929, it became a large open-pit mine rich in nonmetallic mineral resources, including limestone and silica. It had an annual production of three million tons and was a major source of pollution.