On August, 15th, a opening ceremony of the first national standard tourism taxi-way has been held at the square of Zhangjiajie’s train station and three citizens invited online cut the ribbon at the ceremony, representing the formal start of the first national standard tourism taxi-way.At the ceremony, three citizens who are chosen from the Internet, Yangzhiwen, Chenghongchun, and Xiexinhua are gladly cutting the ribbon for the new tourism busway. It is the first case in China to invite citizens to cut the ribbon at an opening ceremony.Later, the representative of the drivers of standard and model service bus has made a solemn pledge. And three passengers who just came out from the train station exit have taken a free ride on the first model bus.By Brenda

News 2012-08-18 01:59 View：1317

Zen Shaolin is performed in the valley of Songshan Mountain, the birthplace of martial arts. At the Opening Ceremony of London's Olympic Games, audiences were able to see the daily lives of the British in the past, such as factory workers and farmers in an authentic onstage setting, with chimneys, livestock and spinning wheels. But it wasn't a unique show, as China has been putting on open-air performances with scenic areas functioning as a natural stage to display local culture and traditions for many years. They're magnificent shows involving hundreds of performers. The 55-year-old director and producer Mei Shuaiyuan invented the concept of shijing yanchu, or "real scenery shows" a decade ago. In 2003, he collaborated with director Zhang Yimou to produce Impression Liu Sanjie, which was a huge success. It attracted 1.5 million visitors in 2011. The inspiration comes from the legend of Liu Sanjie, an outstanding folk artist who sings to defy evil and help poor people living along the Lijiang River in Yangshuo county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Zhang went on to produce another four Impression shows, while Mei has done nine. Mei's latest work Buddha Pilgrimages Eastward will premiere in September in Yanzhou, Shandong province. "The best culture in the prettiest scenery, rather than an artificial stage: they enhance each other's beauty. It's about Chinese philosophy - the harmony between human beings and nature," Mei says. Mei says it takes more than a year to complete a project that has about 400 to 500 performers and costs about 40-200 million yuan ($6. 28-31.4 million). Funding is mainly from the Scenery Culture Ltd Co he founded and private capital shares. In 1994, he became president of the Guangxi Zhuang Opera Troupe, but no matter how good the performance was, it lost money as the shows were not market-oriented and its target customer was the government. "I wanted to make some changes. I'd watched various Broadway shows and I was attracted by the pure commercialization and high box office," he says. "When I saw the fishermen's boats on Lijiang River in the day and their lights at night, I thought it looked like a performance." Wang Huiru, 24, an office worker from Beijing who saw the show, says: "It was so fascinating! I was touched by those pretty girls washing their long hair in the Lijiang River, with the moon over the mountains." Mei also cooperated with many famous artists, such as musician Tan Dun and dancer Huang Doudou in the Zen Shaolin, staged in the valley of Songshan Mountain near the Shaolin Temple, Henan province. "What we're exploring is the origin of the culture, which, together with the picturesque sceneries, becomes the oneness of human and nature," he says. "Tourists always want to see local life. This is the principle. A show that lasts forever must become the soul of the mountains and rivers, just like a Chinese ink-and-wash painting," he says. "It's essential to combine arts and the market." Large-scale tourist areas with 2-3 million tourists a year are priorities, Mei says. Interesting local culture is another factor. He says improved scenic design, lighting and advanced technology make shows more magnificent than was possible in the past. In The Love Story of a Weedman and a Fairy Fox, he works with American magician David Copperfield's group to build a wonderland full of magic, based on the folklore of Hunan province and about the forbidden love between a fox-woman and a woodchopper. He says it's difficult to estimate how long it takes to recoup costs because there are many factors other than ticket sales. For example, the increasing price of buying land and the profits of facilities such as hotels and restaurants need to be taken into account. Mei says tourist agencies typically account for nearly 90 percent of tickets sales, because the shows are part of a tourism experience. "It's very convenient. We only have to do our shows well and distribute revenues. Our shows boost their business, too," he says. He plans to promote the show to Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia, where there are low labor costs and good weather. "Someone invited us to demonstrate their culture in our way after watching my productions. It's a good opportunity and I'm talking it over with them."Source:China Daily

News 2012-08-17 16:48 View：1354

Recently, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) geologists Maria-Luise Frey and Flavia Fernanda de Lima came to have an on-the-spot investigation in Zhangjiajie’s famous natural scenic spot Yellow Dragon Cave. They spoke highly of the beauty ofYellow Dragon Cave, and surprised by its “amaze, charm”.Maria-Luise Frey and Flavia Fernanda de Lima went toYellow Dragon Cave and the ecological square successively. They asked about the measures had taken in order to protect those caves and also gave full affirmation to the efforts that Yellow Dragon Cave spot had taken in protecting the geology. Meanwhile, they paid a compliment to the large scale ofYellow Dragon Cave as well as the abundance of stalagmites, which could be seldom seen all over the world.Translated by Becky#gallery-2 {margin: auto;}#gallery-2 .gallery-item {float: left;margin-top: 10px;text-align: center;width: 33%;}#gallery-2 img {border: 2px solid #cfcfcf;}#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {margin-left: 0;}

News 2012-08-17 01:47 View：1412

“Because of this appointment system, we can get rid of the annoyance at hurriedly waiting in line and I can even have breakfast leisurely with my guests” remarked at 8 o’clock on 13th, August by a tour guide, Mr. Wang who is leading his guests to the eco-car swiftly and smoothly at the entrance of tickets station of Suoyuxi at Wulingyuan Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie. And this is situation at the first day of the launch of tour group appointment system in Wulingyuan core scenic area.According to the introduction of the work staff here, “The tour guides can use their free time to make an on-the-spot appointment when they arrive, or if they miss the appointment time, they can also make another appointment through “Yichengtong” system”. This method has greatly mitigated the phenomenon of main passenger flow queuing for a long time and will enable the tour guides to arrange their tour time more reasonably, thus improving the satisfaction of the Wulingyuan core scenic spots in zhangjiajie.By Brenda

News 2012-08-16 01:55 View：1253

From August 16th to October 27th, China Southern Airlines will witness some exciting changes—— the accession of three new scheduled flights fly between Zhangjiajie and Beijing every week. There will be one new flight every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday successively. The flight number is CZ3717/8, plane model is A321. About the departure time of the plane, it starts from Beijing airport at 13：40，and arrives in Zhangjiajie Lotus Airport at 16：10. Moreover, it leaves Zhangjiajie at around 17：00, reaches Beijing Capital International Airport at 19：25.Translated by Becky

News 2012-08-16 01:44 View：1153

On the afternoon of August 15, a press conference for the Second Hunan Embroidery Culture and Art Festival was held in Changsha. The festival is scheduled to be held from Sept. 15 to 17 in Hunan Provincial Exhibition Center. During the event, a series of activities will be launched: China's contemporary embroidered works of art are to be presented and works embroidered in 24 ways are to debut; industry experts or scholars will discuss inheritance and innovation of embroidery skills in the Chinese Embroidery Summit Forum; and a special fireworks show is to be held to fully display the charming of Liuyang fireworks. Additionally, a new marketing model will be tried out, asking collectors to participate in the event and to collect and auction works of art in order to add their values. Translator: Wu Lirong Source: Hunan Official Web Portal

News 2012-08-16 01:33 View：1121

ZJJ Tianmen Mountain Temple was first built in the Tang Dynasty as a center of Buddhism in the area of western Hunan.The present Tian Men Mountain Temple is rebuilt on the basis of the original site with a plot area of more than 10,000 sqm. It adopts an official style of the Qing Dynasty and the buildings in the Temple compare well with the famous classical houses at home. The Temple is located in the mountain hollow with a broad vision. If one gazes into the southeast, all the hills seem to be so small that the Temple is really like an overlord.Translated by Sophia

News 2012-08-15 11:47 View：1173

On August 13th morning, 52 people from Huochetou bicycle club in Huaihua city has arrived at Wulingyuan Scenic spot through a 3-day safe journey. And it is the biggest bicycle team since the launch of Zhangjiajie activity as“subsidies for your low-carbon tour”.In the light of the introduction of its clubber,Liuwen,they departed from Huaihua city on 11th,August and rode more than 300km within 3 days. And among their team member, the oldest is 64 years and the youngest 16 years. Since the initiate of low-carbon tourism towards the whole world held by Wulingyuan on 28th, June, Zhangjiajie has entertained over 300 people who travelled in their low-carbon ways including by bike, on foot, and on their skateboards. Their journey covers a total route of about 150,000 km. They also have received the rewards provided by the organizer containing tickets, low-carbon subsidies, and best popularity awards for travelogue as well as attention award formicro film of travel story.By Brenda

News 2012-08-15 01:58 View：2257