Qian Yuankun, director of the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Tourism, introduced eight new tourist routes at a Hubei hot spring tourist route promotional event held in Sanjiang Forest Hot Spring in Xianning city, Hubei province, on Jan 2.

The eight routes, which integrate hot springs in different areas with skiing, countryside tours and unique local customs and history, cover the cities of Chibi, Wuhan and Honghu, in addition to Yingshan county and other places in Hubei province.

The Hubei tourism bureau also encouraged netizens to vote for the Top 10 most popular hot springs in Hubei on its official website and on cnhubei.com, the website of Hubei Daily, as part of promotional initiatives for the hot springs and those who vote have the opportunity to win a free visit to the hot springs.

Qian said at the event that the hot springs are a “treasure” of Hubei’s tourism resources, and the continuously improving high speed rail and suburban railway service in the province will contribute to the popularity of the hot springs tourism sector.

He also urged many people to participate in the vote, and share their best ideas for the development of Hubei’s hot spring tourism. So far, Hubei province has more than 30 hot spring tourist attractions, including about 15 with an investment of over 100 million yuan ($16.53 million).

Edited by Niva Whyman