Tourism in China CGG3O

Recap… Where does China rank in terms of # of tourists arriving per year? Where do you think most of these tourists come from?

But… Attracting foreign tourists is only part of the story With a population of 1.3 Billion, the market for domestic tourism is huge China has over a billion domestic tourists a year The combination of foreign and domestic tourists makes China the #1 country in the world for tourism

Tourism in China Directly employs about 7 million people Indirectly employs about 34 million people

Tourists from China About 50 million Chinese travel abroad each year

Tourists Destinations in China Cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong) Central/Western rural regions Tropical South

Beijing Capital of China Population of about 20 million Lots of culture, prime draw for tourists Fall is nicest time to visit –Cold in winter –Hot and humid in summer –Spring is windy

Beijing Olympics: 500,000 foreign visitors

Beijing The Summer Palace –Summer residence for emperors

Beijing The Great Wall –Passes close to Beijing –6000 km long, 9 m high –Started by the Zhou dynasty in about 800 BCE –Built by about 300,000 workers (mostly forced)

Beijing The Forbidden City –Huge complex (9000 rooms) –Home to 24 emperors –Regular citizens were not allowed in –Last emperor drive out in 1924

Beijing Tiananmen Square –World’s largest city square –Built by Mao to show military strength (can hold a million soldiers)

Beijing The Drum Tower –One of the oldest parts of Beijing –Clock that runs on water

Hong Kong Population of about 7 million Leased to Britain until 1997 –European influence –St. John’s Cathedral

Hong Kong Many theme parks, including Hong Kong Disneyland –Cost $1.8 Billion US –Created 35,000 jobs –Will inject $19 Billion US into the Hong Kong economy between 2005 and 2045

Shanghai Where the Yangtze flows into the South China Sea Modern skyscrapers mix with traditional Chinese architecture One of the busiest ports in the world Financial centre of China Shopping destination

Shanghai Key tourist attractions –Jade Buddha Temple –Longhua Pagoda –Oriental Pearl Tower

Traveling in China Read p –Answer question #15 Read “Hidden China” on page 269 –Answer all questions (26-31) on p. 272