The Liaoning province town of Wulongbei is investing 10 billion yuan in a new hot spring resort that is expected to become a major tourism destination.

Jilin Hanxing Group and China Transportation Construction Co Ltd will invest 5 billion yuan into building the Liaoning Wulong International Hot Spring Town project on 12 square kilometers of land. The resort will integrate personal health and recreation with entertainment and a new center for exhibits and conventions.

The project, which currently is undergoing environmental evaluations, will center on the Wulongbei hot spring, one of the larger hot springs in Liaoning province.

Earlier this year, two Chinese companies, Zhuhai Tianmu and Jilin Hanxing, signed agreements with Wulongbei town to invest 10 billion yuan developing the town into a hot spring-based tourism destination.

While the town already could boast hot spring guest houses, health resorts and swimming pools, most of the existing businesses were considered small and medium-sized companies unable to cultivate a centralized industry.

At the 11th Congress of Party Deputies in Wulongbei town, officials proposed building a “backyard garden” featuring landscapes and hot springs. The Zhen’an party district committee and district government analyzed the proposal and then established a strategy to develop the attraction, along with a high-end service sector.

For 200 years, the concept of hot spring resorts, which originated in Europe, has created successful tourism centers around the world. The hot spring towns of Evian in France, Merano in Italy and Beppu in Kyushu in Japan are among hot spring resorts that welcome large number of tourists each year for sightseeing and relaxing getaways. The town of Wulongbei intends to become another international hot spring destination. The Zhen’an party district committee and district government have turned to expertise in China and overseas and employed internationally known planning and design institutes to prepare blueprints for the Wulongbei project.

Plans are expected to be finalized this year. The project will include a scenic tourism quarter, administrative quarter, industrial park quarter, field exploration quarter, industrial logistics quarter, an entertainment district and senior care facilities.