Chinese city Pingliang in Gansu Province received 982,900 trips during the week-long National Day holiday in October, raking in over 5.2 trillion yuan (748 billion U.S. dollars), according to Pingliang Tourism Bureau. The Kongtong Mountains was the top performer in terms of trips reception during this period.
Autumn is the harvest season for Pingliang. Known for its Kongtong Mountains, a holy site for Taoism and Buddhism, the city has developed several tourism routes featuring visits to the mountain, the countryside as well as tastes of its local specialty produce of apples and red-fur cattle meat.
Located in the intersection of three provincial regions of Shannxi, Gansu and Ningxia, Pingliang is one important town in the eastern end of the ancient Silk Road. The Kongtong Mountains poses an impressive scene with its flowing cloud and colored forests in the autumn. The city is also home to other unique tourism sites like terrace fields, the Dayun Temple and the Queen Mother Palace, the birthplace of the Queen Mother of the West (a goddess in Taoism).
Pingliang leverages its local folklore and culture to roll out a series of cultural programs such as grand Tai Chi performance and Kongtong martial arts, luring many tourists with its unique cultural appeal.
Rural tourism is becoming increasingly popular among citizens and tourists with the development of Pingliang's unique local industries. Local governments will organize apple-picking or recitation activities in orchards during the season of apple harvest. Local people make money from apples both from selling them as products and as tourism resources. Pingliang's apple has an endearing shape, bright colors, sweet and sour taste. It boasts a planting area of 2.56 million mu (170,667 hectares) and a high wholesale price for many years. In recent years, Pingliang's apples have made inroads into overseas markets such as Russia, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, raking in more than 30 million U.S. dollars annually.
The red-fur cattle s another popular local specialty produce and a must-try for visitors. With tender meat and unique flavor, Pingliang's red-fur cattle boasts top-notch quality of marbled steak, securing a supply qualification for feeding the country's national athletes in June, 2018.
Autumn view sight-seeing, apple-picking and tasting red-fur cattle meat help Pingliang's autumn tourism stand out, and become fresh engines of the city's green growth.
Source: Pingliang Tourism Bureau
