Chinese officials hope to lure tourists with rockets, ethnic traditions
August 9, 1997
Web posted at: 4:31 p.m. EDT (2031 GMT)XICHANG COUNTY, China (CNN) -- Xichang county, in the Liangshan prefecture, is part of a poverty-stricken area of central China dominated by subsistence farming and a sluggish economy. Now, officials want to turn things around by boosting domestic and international tourism using two unusual attractions: a rocket launch site, and the colorful Yi minority.
"As late as the 1950s the area of Liangshan populated by the Yi minority was a feudal society, so the customs and traditions of the Yi minority have been preserved and climate is very good so it's a great place to visit," said Liangshan governor Ma Kaiming. He spoke at a recent press conference publicizing the push to draw tourists to the area.
Yi events like the annual Torch Festival draw thousands of spectators from across China.
The ancient festival celebrates the legendary Yi victory in a battle of wits with a god who wanted to tax human beings. They won by burning a plague of insects sent by the god to punish their petulance and every year they mark their victory by lighting straw torches.
Liangshan, with a population of almost 4 million people, is desperately poor, and trying to eke out a living there is difficult.
One of the few sources of income is China's space program, based at the Xichang launch pad.
The launch pad sees regular launches of China's Long March space rockets and is already a huge attraction for local tourists.
But the income derived from the site is not enough to improve the lives of peasant farmers in the region.
The Yi, who make up 42 percent of the local population, mainly get by on subsistence farming in the mountainous region.
Farmers like Da Ge, a 36-year-old Yi, would much rather move to cities where the chance of earning a living wage is greater. But he worries that if he left, nobody would look after his family of five.
Despite the poverty and despite a number of minority peoples in the area, Liangshan is free of ethnic unrest and is politically stable.
And with a gentle climate and 2,000 hours of sunshine a year, officials feel the area is a perfect draw-card for tourists.
Colorful events like the Torch Festival add to the appeal, and the Yi people are realizing they have something to offer visitors.
Both the Yi and officials are hoping that by publicizing the area's attractions, the local tourist industry will take off with a bang.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related site:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- People of NuJian Region - Scroll down the page for some colorful information about the Yi people.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Sound off on our message boards
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.