Four Points by Sheraton has announced plans for its first hotel in Tibet. It is also opening Four Points by Sheraton Lianyungang and Four Points by Sheraton Sanya Bay. These three new hotels are scheduled to open between 2007 and 2010 and quadruple the size of Four Points by Sheraton in Asia Pacific in one year.

Four Points by Sheraton hotels cover all the basics including a comfortable bed, a great shower, and free high-speed internet access. To this it adds warm pie, fresh coffee, free bottled water, and a wide selection of beers. It clearly understands the basic needs of the frequent traveler. You get the idea from the illustration.
The hotels are:

Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa which is scheduled to open this year. It is on the corner of East Lingkor Avenue and East Lingkor Road which gives easy access to the city’s primary tourist attractions, shopping areas and entertainment districts. 93 guest rooms, a meeting room, two restaurants and a lounge.
Four Points by Sheraton Lianyungang which is the first internationally branded hotel to open in Lianyungang. One of the first 14 coastal cities in China to open to foreign trade, Lianyungang attracts business travelers but also tourists for the nearby Yuntai Mountain and Liandao Island. Scheduled to open in 2009. 254 guest rooms, more than 14,000 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants, and a bar and lounge.
Four Points by Sheraton Hainan, Sanya is a new resort hotel in which is arguably China’s premier resort destination. Sanya is not only a popular tourist destination, but also a political, economic and cultural hub and foreign trade port. When it opens in mid 2010, the 405 room resort will have three restaurants, a spa and health club and more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space.

Source: BusinessWire

Yuntai Mountain in Central China’s Henan Province became a a world geopark in 2004. Now it has been named a National 5A Scenic Spot. Which, bluntly, does not sound very scenic so, if it is all right with everyone, we will continue to refer to it as Yuntai Mountain.

The National Tourism Administration was responsible for giving it this new accolade which represents the highest national standard for such scenic spots of which, so far, there are only 66. Which means that either the standard is very, very high or the National Tourism Administration has a lot of work to do.

Someone has to nominate a place for such an award. Tie Daisheng, secretary of the Jiaozuo municipal Party committee, and Lu Guoxian, Jiaozuo City mayor, were the movers to get the mountain listed as a National 5A Scenic Spot.

The mountain administration bureau set up a special team to organize the work of building a national 5A scenic geopark, with Han Yueping, the bureau’s director, as its leader.

The sightseeing paths have been rebuilt to help visitors get closer to nature and make their trip more safe and comfortable. An advanced geology museum has been set up, to spread geological awareness among visitors. All facilities have been designed to be in harmony with the mountain’s natural environment.

The number of tourists to the mountain has grown sharply in the past five years. Last year, the mountain received 2.25 million tourists, 11.3 times that in 2001.

In 2001, 90% of the mountain’s visitors came from the province itself, while today 90% come from outside the province — other parts of China and, indeed, other parts of the world. Tourism revenue has reached RMB650 million, 12.9% of the county’s gross domestic product.
Source: People’s Daily Online