Hainan's launch of a six-day visa-free policy for foreign tour groups entering the island province from Hong Kong or Macao is expected to attract a significant influx of tourists.
Starting from Tuesday, people from countries with diplomatic relations with China can visit the southern island province of Hainan visa-free for 144 hours via tour groups registered in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, said the National Immigration Administration.
The tropical island province stated that it will further optimize the customs clearance and enrich tourism products to promote the growth in inbound tourism.
"In Hainan, the border inspection agencies have introduced biometric data collection equipment at international airports in Haikou, Sanya, Boao, and other places, greatly cutting time that passengers spend on customs clearance. At Haikou Meilan International Airport, the verification channels have been increased from eight to 18, and the fast lanes have been expanded from six to 24," said Luo Zhengyu, deputy director of the Haikou General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection.
Data show that in the first half of this year, Hainan attracted nearly 500,000 inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of more than 251 percent. During the peak summer tourism season, the island has become one of the popular destinations for Hong Kong and Macao residents as well as foreign tourists. Air passenger trips between Hong Kong and Hainan have increased nearly 40 percent year on year.
To cope with various demands from tourists, the province has also launched customized tourism products.
"More than 20 tourism products and routes tailored for this policy have been developed. We also added customized inbound tourism products that contain flights connecting Hong Kong or Macao to Sanya, as well as various hotel accommodations," explained Liu Cheng, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Film, Television, Publications and Sports at a press conference on Wednesday.
Hainan prepares for tourism surge following new six-day visa-free policy
Flower breeding and cultivation bases across China are actively promoting new and healthier varieties of flowering trees and plants, helping create a brighter future for the country's famous springtime scenery.
In a peach blossom scenic area in Changde City of central China's Hunan Province, more than 50 varieties of peach blossoms are in full bloom, attracting flocks of visitors.
The varieties in the area come from the national peach germplasm resource bank in the city. Through artificial cultivation, not only are the varieties of flowers increasing, but the flowering period is also being extended.
According to researchers, one of the star varieties, noted for its rich color, took nearly 16 years to cultivate and promote in the scenic area.
"Its biggest feature is its strong resistance to gummosis. We can see that although a branch like this is damaged, there is no gummosis, so it has a long lifespan and can be used in gardens for a longer time," said Wang Yan, professor of the province's Changde Vocational and Technical College.
Gummosis is the formation of gummy substances on the surface of the trees, which often result from dead tissue.
At Phalaenopsis World, the country's largest phalaenopsis tissue culture center in Suqian City in east China's Jiangsu Province, technicians are cutting phalaenopsis seedlings into thin slices and planting them one by one in transparent bottles, allowing them to multiply exponentially.
"The breeding cycle is short, and the light, temperature and humidity can be freely adjusted artificially. The phalaenopsis bred using this technology have high uniformity and fast growth rate," said Wang Yanting, a plant inoculation specialist at the cultivation center.
Researchers said that the planting center uses more than 200 smart sensors and 5G technology to accurately control growth factors such as temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation to achieve "timed flowering."
"In fact, the natural flowering period of phalaenopsis should be from the beginning of the Chinese New Year to early May, and this is its natural state. Now we can intervene with technology and make it bloom any day we want. Phalaenopsis blooms through temperature regulation. At this time, we need to use air conditioning equipment, constant temperature equipment and dehumidification equipment," said Cao Guofeng, director of the cultivation base.
Breeding bases across China promote new spring flower varieties
