6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, April 2, 2021 CHINA DAILY Shanxi using top landmarks to develop local tourism industry Shanxi’s officials and business representatives attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group’s smart manufacturing park on March 28. LI LIANJUN / FOR CHINA DAILY Yellow River, Great Wall and Taihang New projects launched Mountains’ resources to be shared in bid to for high­quality growth boost visitor numbers By YUAN SHENGGAO cial beginning of 204 projects with a combined investment of 42.58 By YUAN SHENGGAO A groundbreaking ceremony billion yuan and the signing of for an advanced smart equip­ agreements on 344 investment Boasting historical and cultural ment manufacturing park was projects with funding totaling 224 resources as well as impressive nat­ held in Taiyuan on March 28, billion yuan. ural landscapes, North China’s marking a new step in Shanxi A sapphire substrate Shanxi province is planning to turn province on the path to trans­ manufacturing plant — funded by tourism into an economic pillar forming its economy toward Richangjing New Materials in the with strategic importance, accord­ high­quality growth driven by city of Yangquan, eastern Shanxi — ing to an official. The Taihang No 1 Highway is built to offer convenience to visitors touring the Taihang Mountains, emerging, high­tech industries. is among the newly launched high­ Rong Jingguang, deputy chief of which stretches for more than 400 kilometers across the east of Shanxi. LI ZHAOMIN / FOR CHINA DAILY The project is funded by local tech projects in the province. the Shanxi Department of Culture equipment manufacturing giant When talking about its “miracu­ and Tourism, said the province aims Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group. lous speed of construction”, Hao to develop tourism into an industry means “Old Ox Bay”, in Pianguan when it brought disaster and ing times of conflict. The relics and Lou Yangsheng, Party secretary Ronggui, general manager of the with total annual revenue of more county. From there, the river has left despair,” He said. legends left by battles make it a of Shanxi province, presided over company based in Yangquan, said than 1 trillion yuan ($152 billion) in one of its most beautiful features — The official added that the Great favorite of tourists interested in the launch ceremony and laid a special thanks should be given to the next five years. the Shanxi­Shaanxi Grand Gorge. Wall had brought similar feelings to China’s history and culture. cornerstone for the project. the local government. The official said such an ambi­ The gorge was formed by the Yel­ the Chinese people. As the Yellow River, Great Wall The industrial park, covering “The efficiency in administra­ tious plan will be made possible by low River cutting through the Loess “In times of peace, the Great and Taihang Mountains are located nearly 120 hectares, will offer a tive services is impressive,” Hao integrating resources across its Plateau over millions of years. Wall’s passes are the venues of in the west, north and east of Shanxi base for advanced manufacturing said. “And when the construction three landmarks — the Yellow River, Both the Great Wall and the exchange between the Han people respectively, it may be difficult for assisted by 5G, cloud computing, began the officials were always on the Great Wall and the Taihang Yellow River are important cultural and nomads in the north. tourists to cover all three attractions big data and artificial intelligence site to help us solve all kinds of Mountains — as well as other attrac­ landmarks among the Chinese “When wars took place, the wall in a short period of time. technologies. problems.” tions in the province. people, which “can invoke the was looked to with high hopes in the However, with the construction of It is the latest move in Shanxi’s “Thanks to the government’s Shanxi is one of the best places to deepest emotion in their hearts”, defense against invaders. And if the three major sightseeing roads called economic transformation follow­ support, it took only five months see the Chinese architectural won­ according to He Jiao, an official at wall was captured by the enemies, it the Great Wall No 1, Yellow River No ing a number of high­tech projects and 12 days for us to complete the ders of the Great Wall from various the Laoniuwan Scenic Area. was always disastrous to the nation,” 1 and Taihang No 1 highways, travel launched earlier that week. process from business registra­ periods. Laoniuwan is also the place He said. in Shanxi has been made easier. On March 22, Shanxi’s develop­ tion, land acquisition, plant con­ As the country’s most iconic where the Yellow River and the Also holding an important posi­ “The three No 1 highways make ment zones and industrial parks struction and equipment ancient defensive structure, the Great Wall meet. tion in Shanxi’s tourism map is the an intensive tour of Shanxi possi­ collectively announced the launch installation to trial operation,” Hao Great Wall was built in a period span­ “The Yellow River is the mother Taihang Mountains. Extending ble,” said Ni Hongqiang, a self­driv­ of 259 projects, involving a com­ said. ning some two millennia from the river of China, as it has nurtured the more than 400 km from north to ing tourist from Tianjin. bined investment of 106.8 billion Richangjing New Materials is a Warring States Period (475­221 BC) to culture and economy of the nation south, the mountains are among the “On the first day, I was on the yuan ($16.3 billion). manufacturer of sapphire sub­ the Ming Dynasty (1368­1644). for thousands of years,” He said. largest ranges in North China. Stork Tower in the city of Yongji in At the projects’ launch ceremo­ strate, a material used in the pro­ With a total length of more than “And the Great Wall was the greatest They are also where the name of the southwest of Shanxi, to see how ny that day in the Shanxi Transi­ duction of light­emitting display 3,500 kilometers across Shanxi, the defense project in ancient China.” Shanxi province comes from. Shanxi ‘the setting sun beyond the moun­ tion and Comprehensive Reform devices and semiconductors. Great Wall runs through nine cities The official noted that the two means “to the west of the moun­ tains glows and the Yellow River sea­ Demonstration Zone in Taiyuan, With the new plant, Hao said and about 40 counties in the prov­ were also closely related to the fate tains”. And Taihang is the natural ward flows’, as famous Tang Dynasty Lou said he felt “encouraged by the Richangjing is expected to grow ince. More than 1,500 km of walls and of the Chinese nation in history. border between Shanxi, Hebei and (618­907) poet Wang Zhihuan strong momentum of Shanxi’s eco­ into one of the largest sapphire other relics remain relatively intact. “For millennia, residents along the Henan provinces. described in a poem,” Ni said. nomic transformation”. substrate producers in the world. The 5,464­km­long Yellow River — river have used its water to irrigate Because of its breathtaking peaks, The tourist said his trip covered The Party chief called for further The company is also building which has a course of 965 km serv­ their farmlands. However, the river steep cliffs, unique rocks, lush for­ the ancient city of Pingyao, the efforts to help the transformation. facilities for the production of new ing as the border between Shanxi, sometimes destroyed their land and ests and clean waters, Taihang is famed Yanmen Pass of the Great He asked local officials to create a materials such as lithium tantalate Shaanxi and Henan provinces — has properties, and even took their lives regarded by many sightseers as a Wall, the Yungang Grottoes in favorable business climate by and lithium niobate, to boost its the same importance as the Great during severe floods. destination that can be visited many Datong and the rising cliffs of Tai­ “addressing pressing issues, creat­ supplies to the semiconductor Wall in Shanxi’s tourism industry. “Therefore, the river was some­ times. hang in less than 10 days. ing incentive policies and improv­ industry. The Yellow River enters Shanxi at times praised as the hope and glory The mountains also held a strate­ ing services”. the village of Laoniuwan, which of the nation and sometimes cursed gic position in ancient China dur­ Li Shu contributed to this story. The day also witnessed the offi­ Wu Jia contributed to this story. tral roots and familial piety. The Dahuaishu Ancestors Memo­ Dahuaishu central to rial Garden in the township is a holy place for many Chinese people across the world and one of the most worship of ancestors frequently visited places in the country. The garden has held the Dahuai­ By YUAN SHENGGAO shu Ancestors Worship Ceremony every April since 1991 to welcome When Qingming Festival, the Chinese people who want to seek occasion for worshipping ancestors their ancestral roots and pay hom­ and sweeping tombs celebrated age to their ancestors there. around April 5, approaches, the Zhang Xinyuan, an elderly resi­ township of Dahuaishu in Hong­ dent from the city of Laiwu in tong county, Shanxi province, wel­ Shandong province, arrived in comes tens of thousands of visitors Dahuaishu several days before this to pay tribute to their ancestors and year’s ceremony. seek out their ancestral roots. Dahuaishu township is deemed “Dahuaishu is where our family Super­thin steel foil rolls off the production line at Taiyuan Iron and Steel. SUN RONGXIANG / FOR CHINA DAILY Dahuaishu, which means the Big as an ancestral homeland by came.