Travelling along the ancient Silk Road, in China, for fun, for culture, for history, as well as for commercial opportunity. This route is a large potential tourism market in the following years.

Traveling is much more than just having fun. It's also an effective way of bringing economic benefits to the destination. That’s the assessment of one top tourism regulator in China at a forum in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Our reporter Xie Zheng was there, and talked to some insiders.

When the world is suffering from an economic slowdown, the number of outbound Chinese tourists still increases. Zhu Shanzhong, Deputy Director of China’s Tourism Administration, told the forum that China is on the verge of a tourism explosion. And that includes Xinjiang, which covers one sixth of China’s land area.

Wang Yuke, Tourism Director of Xinjiang Production and COnstruction Corps., said, “We are looking at new potential. The region is well known for its unique cultural heritage, landscape, and especially, its fruits. But we’re also looking into traditions and history, and trying to develop new routes that are of historic value.”

Source: CNTV