Five southwest districts to jointly develop ecotourism by combining unique resources

"Within five to ten years, five districts in southwestern Beijing will combine their unique resources to develop a distinctive ecotourism program and join hands together to build 'one region, one district, three sections.'" On August 28, reporters learned from The Third Capital Region Economic Forum for Southwestern Beijing that five districts, namely, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Mentougou, Fangshan and Daxing, were searching for new ways to achieve trans-district cooperation to develop the tourism and leisure industries and make a concerted effort to build the southwestern part of the capital into a tourism and leisure destination. Yang Anjiang, Chairman of Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Niu Youcheng, member of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee; and Xia Zhanyi, Vice Mayor of Beijing Municipality, made their appearance at the forum and each delivered a speech.

Reporters learned that one of the main topics of this forum is to discuss the plan to develop the tourism and leisure industries in the five aforementioned southwestern Beijing districts, and specifically to build a tourism and leisure region along the Yongding River, a nature experience area in the west, an ancient village cultural recreation site in Mentougou, an agricultural sightseeing section in Daxing, and a place to explore the numerous ancient relics in Fangshan. The tourism and leisure area in Yongding River relies on the resources along the Yongding River and focuses on the “riverbank economy.” With regard to the sections upstream of Sanjiadian on the Yongding River, efforts will be made to restore its natural beauty and build the Miaofengshan model countryside leisure and tourism area. The “Ancient Trail of West Beijing” will be developed into a place for nature tours and tours to experience folk customs. The section between Sanjiadian and Lugouqiao will be built into a business leisure belt combining business leisure, eco-sightseeing and urban entertainment. The area covering the Advanced Business Park (ABP) in Fengtai, the World Park and the Auto Expo Center will concentrate on the sports leisure industry.

The nature experience zone in the west mentioned in the planning is located in the remote mountainous area to the west of Mentougou and the northwest of Fangshan, mainly including Qingshui Town in Mentougou, Shijiaying Township, Xiayunling Township and Shidu Town in Fangshan. In the future, the Qingshui tourism service center and Xiaolongmen holiday villa will also be set up here.

To amplify the distinctive features of the regional tourism, the five districts will build three tourism and leisure sections as well. The first one will be an ancient village cultural recreation site at Mentougou. With Cuandixia Village and Lingshui Village, two historically and culturally famous villages, as the core, it aims to create a base for experiencing the customs of ancient villages in western Beijing. The second section is an agricultural sightseeing area in Daxing, with special attention paid to the “Panggezhuang-Weishanzhuang-Anding-Qingyundian-Changziying-Caiyu” tour route. The third is an experience exploring the ancient relics in Fangshan. With the “ancient culture” of Zhoukoudian as the leader, the “sutra culture” of Yunju Temple as the core, and the “stone culture” of the Da Shi Wo as the column, the intention is to build a comprehensive culture and tourism industry cluster.

Translated by LOTO