Conference highlights city's wellness tourism success

A show during the event's opening ceremony illustrates wellness industry resources in Jincheng. [Photo by Wang Lin for China Daily]

As a famed wellness tourism destination in Shanxi province, the city of Jincheng welcomed more than 300 guests – officials, experts and industry insiders – from across the country, to the 2023 China National Conference on Wellness Industrial Development beginning on Aug 25.

The delegates shared their insights into the industry's latest development trends and offered proposals for the sector's growth in Jincheng, Shanxi and the rest of the country.

Wellness tourism is an emerging sector in the wider picture of traveling. It features travels associated with the pursuit of enhancing one's personal well-being. Wellness trips include a variety of activities such as thermal springs, spas, exercise, recreation, relaxation and recuperation.

He Baoxiang, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was among the attendees.

In his speech delivered at the event's opening ceremony, he said the wellness sector is an important part of the tourism industry and has a unique role to play in the country's Healthy China initiative.

He said he is glad to see that Shanxi and Jincheng have witnessed rapid and sustained development in the industry and their practices are setting examples for the sector's growth nationwide.

Also at the opening ceremony, Lan Fo'an, secretary of the Shanxi Committee of the Communist Party of China, highlighted the province's unique resources for developing a wellness industry, which include its improving environment, pleasant weather, long history, brilliant culture, healthy food and rich forms of folk traditions.

As the province is adjacent to Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, Lan said Shanxi is expected to become the "backyard garden" for the three regions, offering their residents rich options for sightseeing, recreation, relaxation and recuperation.

He also hopes businesses from across the country will invest in Shanxi's wellness industry and he made assurances that there should be good returns considering Shanxi's unique resources and its improving business environment.

Wang Zhen, secretary of the Jincheng CPC committee, introduced the development model of the industry in Jincheng. He said that those who come to the city for a wellness experience can select a suitable one from a range of options – from senior wellness, medical-aided recuperation, cultural cultivation and exercise to rural life experience.

Xue Mingyao, mayor of Jincheng, talked about the development potential of the industry in the city.

As Jincheng is located in the southern part of the Taihang Mountains, it features forest coverage of more than 42 percent. This has won it fame as a "natural oxygen bar". The rich content of oxygen makes it an ideal destination for recuperation tours.

Building on the beneficial conditions, Xue said Jincheng is aiming to develop itself into a high-level wellness destination with both a national and international reputation.

He said the city is now the permanent host city of the China National Conference on Wellness Industrial Development. It was also recognized by the International Federation on Ageing as China's first pilot city for the wellness industry.

The mayor predicted that the city's tourism industry, with the wellness sector at its core, is expected to develop into a cluster with annual revenue surpassing 100 billion yuan ($13.71 billion) by 2025.

Zhang Jufeng and Li Jiyi contributed to this story.