Top 10 Chinese Tourism News Items of 2011 2

6) Outbound tourism market opens to foreign investment
In late May 2011, the National Tourism Administration announced that three Chinese-foreign joint venture travel agencies would begin operating in China's outbound tourism market (the three travel agencies are: TUICHINA 中旅途易旅游有限公司 from Europe, CITS Express Travel Agency Co., Ltd. 国旅运通旅行社有限公司 from the United States and JTB New Era International Travel Co., Ltd. 交通公社新纪元国际旅行社有限公司 from Japan).

With the outbound tourism market officially open to foreign investment, it's clear that China's tourism market has finally started catching up with that whole globalisationfad that's been popular for the last few decades.

7) West Lake added to World Heritage List
At the World Heritage Committee meeting on June 24th, 2011, West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou was officially added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. And it's no wonder – West Lake is the perfect example of natural and cultural beauty all rolled into one! West Lake is the only lake in China to be included on the list, and is one of only a few other lakes to be classified as a cultural heritage site. Now that it made it on the World Heritage List, it's likely that even more visitors will come to see its beauty, which means that the locals will have to work extra hard to ensure that the area can continue to develop in a sustainable fashion.

8) New Individual Visiting Scheme (IVS) to Taiwan
Following the July 2008 announcement permitting mainland group tours to Taiwan, China officially opened IVS travel for mainland residents (from Beijing, Shanghai, and Xiamen) to Taiwan on June 28th, 2011. The new regulations will further stimulate the Taiwanese domestic tourism industry, deepen cross-strait exchanges and provide a better channel for communication between the Mainland and Taiwan. Those travelling under the IVS can organise their own travelling plans as they wish, which should provide a greater degree of freedom, as well as a better travelling experience for mainlanders.

9) Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail
At a total distance of 1,318 km and costing over 220 billion RMB, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail finally opened on June 30th, 2011. Soon after, talk of "High-Speed Rail Travel" became quite popular, with the first train tickets selling out pretty much immediately. The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Rail is referred to as a "Golden Travel Line", as it connects two of China's most important economic centres (not to mention it passes by nine World Heritage sites and 16 "China Excellent Tourism Cities".

10) Heixiazi Island opens
In October 2008, Heixiazi Island (黑瞎子岛) located on the Sino-Russian border, was officially returned to China. On July 20th, 2011, tourism to the island officially opened for the first time (registering through special travel agencies). The island is the furthest eastern point in China, and is sure to be quite a unique travel experience, especially for the well-versed traveller who feels like they've already seen it all.