Many popular sightseeing regions in Sichuan province reopened for business yesterday, more than a month after the devastating earthquake struck and closed them off to tourists.
Daring backpackers may still encounter leaning temples, highways at risk from landslides and falling rocks, and perhaps even experience the ripple of aftershocks, but the local government and travel agencies promise that safety, comfort and fun in Sichuan are coming with a large discount.
On Friday, the provincial tourism bureau announced that 13 cities and ethnic minority autonomous districts would return to normal tourist business, starting from yesterday.
The list includes Zigong , Panzhihua , Luzhou , Suining , Neijiang , Leshan , Nanchong , Yibing , Guangan , Dazhou , Meishan , Ziyang and Liangshan , mostly in the southern and eastern part of Sichuan. Jiuzhaigou , in the far north, and Ganzi, in the west, are set to open to tourists soon.
The local government has also announced a three-year plan to rebuild the province's massive tourist industry.
The first step is aimed at reviving the internal market, with the slogan 'born in Sichuan, tour in Sichuan'.
According to the government plan, the tourism sector would wholly recover from the earthquake by the end of next year in terms of scale and scope, and quake-related theme parks would emerge in the worst-hit areas after 2010 as a major source of employment and income for local residents.