Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, is determined to become a modern international-class tourist city, with the famous West Lake as its centre piece, said a top city official recently.

Tourism is the leading sector in the city and its development is seen as a crucial factor in the city's social and economic development, said Wang Guoping, Party secretary of Hangzhou.

Tourism had a peak performance last year, with 27 million people visiting the city, among whom more than 1 million were foreigners.

It brought in about 29 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion) in revenue last year, accounting for 15.8 per cent of the city's total gross domestic product (GDP), according to Wang.

Hangzhou has long been known as one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the country.

The major scenic site in Hangzhou is West Lake, and an ancient poet once compared the lake to Xi Shi -- a famous beauty in the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC-476 BC).

Other tourist attractions include Qiantang, Fuchun and Xin'an rivers, Qiandao Lake and Tianmu Mountain National Park.

Despite the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the spring of this year, tourism in Hangzhou had largely recovered by this September, with the hotels in the city enjoying a 70 per cent booking rate.

The city's Party committee as well as the government want to see the growth rate of the tourism sector surpass that of the city's GDP and the country's overall economic growth rate.

Great importance is being attached to environmental and ecological protection of West Lake, Wang said. A series of environmental protection projects have been under way since 2001.

They will be completed by 2006, Wang said, adding the goal of the projects is to ensure that people live in harmony with the lake and to this end protection of the eco-system of the lake and its surroundings is being given top priority.

In the west shoreline project, which was completed this year, the lake has been expanded westward by nearly 1 square kilometre to return its size 300 years ago, its largest size in history.

The project moved out more than 6,000 people who used to live in the area, in line with a new local government regulation stipulating that no residents except those involved in tourism live in the lake's shore area.

Wang said the resettlement was achieved smoothly with the support of the local residents.

Upon completion of the project, the west shoreline of the lake was reopened to the public on October 1 and is regarded as a positive contribution to the lake's beauty and tourism value.

Wang said tourism of the city will be upgraded from simple sightseeing to include comprehensive services to ensure that it becomes a major international tourism destination.

The city will also continue to strengthen the protection of its eco-system, with the work expected to be completed by 2015.

What the city wants is not only economic development, but also clean rivers, green mountains, environmental protection and above all, sustainable development, Wang said.

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