Xitang ancient town seeks 5A status

On Aug 26, the national network media tour in Zhejiang arrived at Xitang ancient town to experience the scenery and culture there. The famous watertown made the United Nations reserve list for World Cultural Heritages in 2001. It was also among the first batch of Historic Towns of China elected in October 2003.

The photo shows the Xitang ancient town scenic area, Jiashan county, Zhejiang province. [Photo/ Zhang Qiong]

The ancient town of Xitang is located in Jiashan county, Zhejiang province. As a national 4A scenic spot, it received more than 3 million tourists in the first six months of the year, a 6.6 percent year-on-year increase. The tourism industry achieved a total income of 460 million yuan ($75 million), or an increase of 12.73 percent compared with the same period last year.

The Xitang ancient town scenic area held a tourism promotion upon arrival of national network media on Aug 26, 2014. [Photo/ Zhang Qiong]

At present, the Xitang scenic area management office is making an effort to apply to be a 5A scenic spot for the town. Lu Yongwei, head of the Xitang scenic area management committee, said that the basic management concept of the town is to seek a reasonable increase of GDP as well as preserve its "cultural DNA."

The photo shows a corner of the West Garden, once the residence of the Zhu family in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Xitang. [Photo/ Zhang Qiong]