Sand sculpture festival marks revival of China's tourism industry
( 2003-08-20 16:15) (Agencies)
The fifth international sand sculpture festival in Zhoushan city of east
China's Zhejiang province, held from September 19 through May 15, 2004, will
mark the revival of China's tourism industry after SARS, say tourism officials
on Wednesday.
 "The sand sculpture festival, the first of its kind
introduced to China five years ago, has become a major tourist attraction and
led to similar festivals in other parts of China," said Zhang Xiqin, deputy
director of State Tourism Administration.
More than one million tourists, from home and overseas, have visited the
previous four sand sculpture shows in Zhoushan city.
This year's show, themed on the ancient "Silk Road," will feature major
distinct tourist sites from the ancient capital of Xi'an in northwestern China
all the way to Rome, Italy. Prior to the opening of sea navigation between the
East and the West, theworld-famous Silk Road was the land thoroughfare linking
China, or Middle Kingdom as it was called at that time, with Central and Western
Asia to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean between the 2nd century B.C. and
the 9th century A.D..
The festival this year will boast a sculpture of up to
13 meters in height and use a total of 20,000 cubic meters of sand, organizers
said.
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