Operator wins rights to tourist site

1 February 2002

The rights to tourist attractions in the Huangshan Mountain region of Anhui province have been sold to a domestic tourism company, the first sale of its kind in China. Tianjin Ark Tourism has paid Yn100m for 30-year rights to two attractions at the foot of the sacred mountain. A joint company will handle the development of the sites, 80 per cent owned by Tianjin Ark, 20 per cent owned by the local government.

Huangshan is a famous destination but its tourist industry has been held back by transport bottlenecks that limit visitor numbers to 4m a year, said South China Morning Post. Airport and expressway projects due to be completed next year should ease the problem.