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Shanxian tourism performs well during New Year holiday

The tourism industry in Sanmenxia's Shanxian county, Henan province has surpassed its record set in the 2015 New Year holiday and progressed toward its target of developing a cultural brand for tourism, according to local officials of the county.

During the 2016 New Year holiday (Jan 1-3), the county received 35,000 visitors and generated two million yuan ($303,400) in revenue, a considerable increase compared to last year.

Local authorities attributed the good result to the improvement of two main tourist attractions in the county.

One is the Gaoyangshan Hot Spring International Resort, which contributed 570,000 yuan to total revenue during the three-day holiday. Featuring a hot spring water park, on-site entertainment performances, drifting programs and a large-scale water slide, the resort attracted more than 6,000 tourists from Jan 1 to 3.

An outdoor hot spring area in the resort grew in popularity during the holiday. Spruced up with illuminations showing the history and culture of the hot springs in the county, it has become a unique tourist site in Shanxian.

The other one is the Shanzhou Cave Dwelling. The tourist site has spent 250 million yuan of its 580 million yuan budget to complete its primary construction.

Divided into three main sectors, the cave dwelling is featured in some traditional arts in the west part of Henan province, including Shanzhou paper-cutting and Chengni inkstone. It is expected to be open to the public during Golden Week in May (May 1-7).

Tourists coming to the county can relax in the hot spring resort while gaining insights into the local traditional culture. The two tourist attractions have become the binary stars in Shanxian and are forecast to advance tourism development, according to an employee of the hot spring resort.

Visitors pose for a group picture at the Shanzhou Cave Dwelling in Sanmenxia, Henan province. [Photo/smx.gov.cn]