Hold on the Core Problems

　　As a prefecture-level city, Yichang has three national 5A level tourist attractions, ranking the third place with Guilin and Sanya in the whole country. The number of of municipal 4A level, municipal 5A level and good faith travel agencies at provincial level in Yichang holds the leading position in Hubei Province. Here comes the question: how will this tourist city make new breakthroughs?

　　According to the statistics from Yichang Holiday Office, Yichang tourism has reached a new height in the past National Holiday. During the seven days, Yichang received 3.605 million tourists from home and abroad, and the tourism revenue reached 2.056 billion RMB, respectively increasing 36.41percent and 39.60 percent year-on-year growth rate. It’s a great leap for the tourist city after two-year\'s relatively stable development.

　　Exquisite Details in Previously Constructed Scenic Spots

　　In the Three Gorges Waterfall Scenic Area, a trail paved with over 1000 Russian pines catches everyone\'s eyes. Each pine is 2.4 meters long and 0.2 meters wide, worth of 300 RMB. Wang Bo, the general manager, said that this trail costs more than 6 million RMB.

　　The elaborate arrangement has won the compliments of the tourists.

　　Such special attraction does not only exist in the Three Gorges Waterfall Scenic Area. In the Three Gorges Folk Custom Tourist Site, specialties can be seen everywhere such as the stone pass, the stilted building, the old trenches and so on. In the past seven years, over 0.8 billion RMB has been invested to make a leap from extensive development to fine management. It eventually develops itself into a National 5A Tourist Attraction.

　　Exquisite construction and upgrading is just the microcosm of the transformation of Yichang tourism. By leveraging the Three Gorges and integrating tourism resources, Yichang has become a tourist destination integrating gorges, dams, sceneries and the city itself.

　　Practical Development of Urban Tourism

　　In 101 Yanjiang Avenue, an ancient alley hides in the high modern buildings, which is as narrow as a thread. Three Chinese characters “you” “zheng” “xiang” (the Post Office Alley in English) written in clerical script at the entrance of the alley are simple and unsophisticated. Wandering along the alley, tourists have a feeling of traveling along the river of history.

　　"Though this alley seems very ordinary, it in fact embodies the vicissitudes of Yichang in the past century." Liu Boling, a citizen who loves photographing, told the reporter that the earliest post office was build there in 1904, thus it was named the Post Office Alley. At present, citizens and tourists often come here to enjoy its unique charms, and some shutterbugs choose to capture and record the beauty of the alley with their cameras.

　　ng was initiated by Yichang Tourism Department and Culture Department cooperating with the media to explore the beautiful sceneries around the citizens and to enrich the contents of urban tourism.

　　The newly completed city night view project before the National Holiday enriches the contents of “Travelling in Yichang at Night”. Cheng Yaozu, a tourist from Taiwan, said in wonder: “I’ve never thought that there are so many attractions in the city except the Three Gorges. In the evening, the whole city is lightened by neon lights, and high buildings and bright lights are reflected in the river, serving as a great visual feast for us.”

　　“Yichang now is trying to explore the traditional attractions, constructing new destinations of modern style and creating the future potential sight spots.” the government official said confidently. According to statistics, the average time of the overnight stays has reached 2.2 days, doubled in the past two years.

　　100 Percent Satisfaction, 1 Percent Surprise

　　As a well-known tourist city, to attract more tourists, we should innovate the products as well as the services. Liu Bing, Director of the Yichang Tourism Bureau, said Yichang was the first to start personal tourism service, i.e. building the “Warming Service 101” brand in Yichang.

　　“Warm Service 101” is to make tourists 100% satisfied and surprised by one elaborate planning as well. Liu Bing said what really attracted the tourists may lie in the 1% surprise.

　　This summer, the temperature in Yichang was an all-time high. Tourists visiting Qiangjiang River in Changyang County were surprised to find that the public restrooms in tourist areas were equipped with air conditioners.

　　In Gezhouba Hotel, guests will get a free cup of cool shrimp, the local drink, as they enter their rooms. When they leave the hotel, they will get a piece of acrostic poem composed by the folk culture artists. Wu Zun, a tourist from Shanghai, said: “Guests can enjoy the beauty of oriental ritual here. And the detailed service tailoring for the guests makes us feel quite pleasant. ”

　　Through these detailed warm services, Yichang people believe that good reputation will attract more tourists.

　　According to the results of tourists’ satisfaction survey of 17 cities in Hubei Province, Yichang ranks the first. (Reported by Xianyu Xiaoming, Tang Yigui and Chen Fang)