Beijing promotes suburb tourism, aiming to attract 12b yuan

Beijing on Wednesday hosted a conference introducing its key suburb tourism programs for the next year. The city plans to raise 12 billion yuan (about $1.7 billion) to promote tourism in the city's outskirts. The program will be consisted of seven categories.

The seven categories are boutique hotels, high-end homestays, integration of culture and tourism, development of old villages, leisure stays and vacations, tourism activities conducive to people's health and wellbeing, and live performances at places of interest. The city rolled out a total of 35 key investment items in 10 districts.

The Chinese capital has been promoting tourism in its outskirts for years. In terms of investment and financing, the city's cultural and tourism authorities had established four platforms, including funds and financing guarantee, to provide professional services for the related enterprises and projects.

At present, Beijing is home to more than 500 high-end homestays in the countryside, 263 star-rated tourism villages, as well as a number of well-known rural tourism spots such as Gubei Water Town.