On March 19 at 22:00, rainfall over Beijing turned to snow, covering the city in a 20 cm blanket of fluffy, white snow over night. As a result, Beijingers woke up to find a beautiful snow-covered cityscape.【echinacities】

If you ask most expats in China what they know about Hainan, their knowledge is probably very limited. Ask someone outside of China and they might very well have difficulty placing the island on a map. But Hainan is so much more than just an island with beautiful beaches and great weather. It is part of an impressive government project to put the island on the international tourism radar—to make it the ‘Hawaii of the China’ and a rival to traditional tourist hotspots in the region like Thailand and Bali.

Source: 898.travel

Famed for generations for its isolation, with a reputation as a place of exiles and years of underdevelopment, it was not until the late 1970s when China flung open its doors to the world that Hainan really started its journey. Thirty years later, with the Chinese economy powering ahead, the government announced its plan to make Hainan an “international tourism destination” by 2020.

Visa rules

In fact, the government has already put in place a number of pilot schemes on the island to help achieve its goal. In 2000, the island introduced a visa-upon-arrival policy for international tourist groups (defined as at least five people) to stay in Hainan for a maximum of 15 days. At present, this scheme is available to tourists from the following countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Money matters

In many ways, Hainan province is able to operate free from the regulations set in Beijing. The province is allowed to acquire investment directly from foreign countries and all Hainan registered companies whose exports amount to $1.5 million per year are able to apply for an Import/Export License.

Business freedoms are not restricted to the Chinese alone. Foreign companies enjoy rights and business opportunities not seen elsewhere on the Mainland, paving the way for international tourism players to set up shop. This will not only enhance the services already provided, but also raise the tourism industry on the island to the next level and help it achieve its 2020 deadline.

The province not only allows foreign companies to set up and separately run their own tourism businesses, but welcomes investment in power, sea transportation, ports, motorways, stores and many others—something that is tightly controlled back on the Mainland. With the government monopoly on tourism alleviated, Hainan is definitely more than just an island; it is an island with its eyes set firmly on putting itself center on the world stage.

Duty-free

To go with its growing international exposure, a duty-free program was initiated in April 2011 to increase sales of luxury goods and to persuade Chinese tourists to holiday at home rather than abroad. Initially, a cap of 5,000 RMB (approximately $804) worth of goods was set for domestic tourists, although this was raised to 8,000 RMB (approximately $1,286) in October 2012 and extended to international visitors. This makes luxury goods purchased in China 10 to 35 percent cheaper—another step in the government’s master plan to make Hainan an international tourist destination.

China, never content to do anything on a small scale, currently has the world’s largest duty free shopping center, the China Duty Free Group-built Sanya Haiting Bay International Shopping Center under construction on the island. Once open at the end of the year, it will cover an area of nearly 70,000 square meters. 23 world famous brands have already signed up to house their goods in this temple of unabashed commercialism, ready to tap into Hainan’s growing market.

International versus domestic

Despite all of Hainan’s grandiose plans, the question still lingers: who is all this really for? The government wants it to be a world-class tourist destination by 2020 and with the business freedoms and relaxed visa rules it would seem that the target audience is the big bad world. However, Hainan is in a great transitional period. The vast majority of tourists are still from the Mainland, lured by the blue skies, tropical weather and simply the island’s ability to provide everything Chinese tourists complain is not provided overseas (services in Chinese, authentic Chinese food to name just a few).

However, with prices rising out of the reach of most ordinary Chinese, Hainan understands it needs to quickly attract foreign visitors. At present, Japanese and Russians make up the vast majority of the island’s international presence, with its proximity to their countries no doubt a pull factor.

Hainan understands that more than just shopping and relaxed business regulations are needed to cater to the international crowd and lure them in. The Ritz Carlton has established itself in Sanya and the Sheraton is now a familiar face in Haikou. Meanwhile, Mission Hills, a branch of the Shenzhen golf club opened in January 2010 to much fanfare.

Not satisfied with mere real estate, the island is now home to a number of important events. The Boao Forum for Asia, where regional and world leaders meet to discuss issues related to the continent and the greater world, is held annually in Hainan. Even the Miss World beauty pageant has graced Hainan a number of times, adding to the allure and reputation of the island (at least with the male tourists).

Gambling, banned on the Mainland, requires potential gamblers to travel to Macau or fly overseas. However, the recently opened Casino Bar at the Mangrove Tree Resort in Sanya Bay is changing all of that. Currently gambling is permitted, but there are no cash prizes. Instead your winnings are used to buy luxury goods at the hotel or even used to pay for your stay. It might be early days and a far cry from the hedonistic gambling culture of places like Las Vegas but it is a step in a direction not taken by the Chinese government on the Mainland.

The sky’s the limit!

The reality is Hainan has come a long way. The famed Song era poet Su Shi helped put the island on the radar during his second period of exile, but its metamorphosis into an up-and-coming tourist hotspot has been long in the making. China has proven time and time again, its ability to reinvent itself and put on a good show. According to a 2011 China Daily report, the country hosted 2 billion domestic trips in 2010 and hopes to raise this to 3.3 billion by 2015, with Hainan no doubt playing a substantial role. China likes to think big and making Hainan an international tourist destination in the next seven years is no small feat. But if there’s one country that can do it, it’s China.【By Seve Findlater, eChinacities.com】

Tourists enjoy cherry blossoms in full bloom at a forest park in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 21, 2013. (Xinhua/Hang Xingwei)

Tourists enjoy cherry blossoms in full bloom at the Yuantouzhu scenic spot in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 21, 2013. (Xinhua/Huan Yueliang)

Tourists enjoy cherry blossoms in full bloom at the Yuantouzhu scenic spot in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 21, 2013. (Xinhua/Huan Yueliang)

A couple walk under cherry blossom trees on the campus of Nanjing Forestry University in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 21, 2013. (Xinhua)

Tourists enjoy cherry blossoms in full bloom at the Yuantouzhu scenic spot in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 21, 2013. (Xinhua/Huan Yueliang)

AMMAN, March 14 (Xinhua) — King Abdullah II of Jordan on Thursday inaugurated Queen Alia International Airport’s new terminal.

The 100,000-square-meter terminal will increase the airport’s capacity from 3.5 million passengers per year to 9 million passengers annually.

Up to 500 million Jordanian dinars (about 800 million U.S. dollars) have been invested in the project, with 200 million dinars (320 million dollars) more to be invested to increase the terminal’s capacity to 12 million passengers per year.

South of the island of Hongkong, winding coastline, has many beautiful beaches. Repulse Bay is located in the south of the island, Hongkong is the most representative of the beach. Repulse Bay of white sandy beach, long, wide beach bed, and calm. Summer is the most popular Repulse Bay, a large number of swimmers come in great numbers for swimming or sunbathing on the beach, huge crowds of people, every kind of swimsuit formed a colorful picture.

Repulse Bay eastern end of the tree-lined, is full of religious undertones tianhailou park. The sea is standing erect two giant statues “goddess of the sea” and “a Buddism godness Guanyin Bodhisattva”, will be displayed next to the Dragon King, Bo and Fu Lu Shou auspicious figures, true to life likeness. Built near a seven-color Cihang lighthouse, magnificent momentum, attracting many tourists in this photo. There are some restaurants, fast food shops and supermarkets around the beach. Linhai tea, is a good place to enjoy the sunset and the sound of the waves against the shore. Repulse Bay’s beautiful scenery, making it one of the island’s famous noble residential areas, areas around the luxury residential. These wall construction, constitute a unique scenic Repulse Bay, people indulge in pleasures without stop.

Transport: from central Exchange Square bus terminus by 6, 6A or 61 bus to Repulse Bay off.

Photo taken on March 16, 2013 shows rape flowers in full bloom in Jianling Township of Wuyuan County, east China’s Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Shi Guangde)

Pearl River including the East River, the Xijiang and Beijiang tributary to the Guangzhou River confluence,,, very beautiful scenery. At night, lights,” Pearl River Pearl” on the tour ship carrying tourists from people’s bridge near Sai ferry, traveling east, the Liberation Bridge, Jiangwan bridge, Haizhu bridge. Haiyin bridge, Guangzhou bridge, Hedong Bridge, then return. Landscape on the way with Zhuhai loyalty, East Lake, Whampoa　 Yun Qiang, Etan lament,” Yangcheng eight scenic spots”, and the south building, Aiqun Hotel, Guangzhou Hotel, Hotel Landmark Canton, Le Grand Large Hotel Jiangwan Haizhu Square Gardens, two sand, White Swan Hotel, sand villa building. The whole two hours.

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Lotus Mountain，covering an area of 2.33 square kilometers and with 108 meters above sea level, is situated by the bank of Lion Sea which is the estuary of Pearl River, thus it is provided with superior location and convenient communication. As a scenic spot combining the ancient ruggedness with the modern grace, it was awarded laureate titles such as “National AAAA Tourist Attraction”, “Provincial Scenic Spot”, “National Preserved Cultural Relic” and “Top 8 Tourist Attractions of the New Century in Guangzhou”.

The Ancient Quarry is well known as its unique spectacle which goes by the comment of “manpower exceeded nature’s engineering” .The Lotus Pagoda and Lotus Wall both are Provincial Preserved Cultural Relics.

Remarkably, the 40.88 meters high Guan-yin is the highest gold-foiled bronze one in the world and has been visited and worshipped by millions of pilgrims annually. Furthermore, various self-contained service facilities are well prepared for the visitors in GD Hotel & Resort. We all wish you an enjoyable visit and leisure herein Lotus Mountain.

Central Radio and TV Tower is located in western Beijing San Huan mid Road (xī sān huán zhōng lù 西三环中路), near Yuyuan Tan Park(yù yuān tán gōng yuán 玉渊潭公园) and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse(diào yú tái guó bīn guǎn 钓鱼台国宾馆) from east, the new West Railway Station(běi jīng xī zhàn 北京西站) in the west, and the Summer Palace (yí hé yuán 颐和园) is in the north. It’s 405 meters high and covers an area of 15.4 hectares. It is the fifth highest tower in the world.

There are VIP hall, rotating restaurant and terrace in the palace lantern-shaped tower, with an area of 6000 square meters. Rotating restaurant is on the 18th floor, which is 221 meters high. It can accommodate 250 people dining at the same time. The indoor viewing room is on the 19th floor, which is 225 meters high. There’s an open-air observation platform on the 22th floor with a height of 238 meters. It’s the biggest open-air observation platform on large towers in the world, which shows a 360-degree view of Beijing. And 20 times automatic telescope can be used for free. There’s a post office in the indoor viewing hall, it’s certenly the highest highest office in the air in Beijing. You can send a postcard with a stamp and medal of the post office in the air.

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Expedia® travelers have ranked AYANA Resort and Spa Bali among the world’s best hotels on this year’s Expedia Insiders’ Select™ list. The list formally recognizes individual hotels worldwide that consistently deliver excellent service, a great overall experience and offer notable value.  The full list represents just 1 percent of the world’s top hotels from the more than 110,000 hotel properties offered on Expedia.

“Delivering our guests superior service is a top priority at AYANA,” said General Manager Charles de Foucault. “We are delighted that our efforts have been acknowledged by Expedia travelers so soon after our rebranding just one year ago, and we look forward to extending our high level of service to even more guests.”

The 2010 Expedia Insiders’ Select? list is based on more than 1 million independent traveler hotel reviews collected by Expedia, combined with a value rating and the local market expertise of more than 400 Expedia employees in local markets worldwide. With an overall score of 94.6 percent, AYANA was one of just 5 hotels in Bali ranked in the 5-star category to make the list.

This honor follows several other accolades since AYANA rebranded in April 2009. Most recently, the 77-hectare property was voted the #1 Spa Hotel in the World in the 2010 Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Awards; made the Conde Nast 2010 Gold List (Best Hotels in Asia); was ranked #18 in the World’s Top 20 Best Hotels for Value by Travel + Leisure readers; and won Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort in the 2009 World Travel Awards. AYANA has been nominated in this year’s World Travel Awards for the World’s Leading Spa Resort, Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort, and Asia’s Leading Luxury Villa.
For more information on Expedia’s Insiders’ Select™ program, visit www.expedia.com/insidersselect.

About AYANA Resort and Spa

Named after a ‘place of refuge’ in Sanskrit, AYANA is perched on limestone cliffs up to 30 meters above the Indian Ocean near Jimbaran Bay on Bali’s south-western peninsula. The property enjoys majestic views and a secluded location across its 1.3 kilometer coastline, yet is just 15 minutes from Bali’s airport. The 368 guestrooms comprise 78 private pool villas and a 290-room hotel.

Resort highlights include the 22,000sqm Thermes Marins Thalasso spa with one of the world’s largest Aquatonic Seawater Therapy Pools and the Spa on the Rocks villas set amidst the Indian Ocean. There are five purpose-built wedding venues; the avant-garde Champa Garden for grand-scale events; four freshwater swimming pools including a children’s pool; a salt-water, infinity-edged Ocean Beach Pool at the cliff’s base, accessed via an inclinator; 13 dining venues; 18-hole golf putting course; tennis pavilion; jogging/cycling path; fitness center; children’s center; boutiques; comprehensive meeting facilities and business center; and resort-wide WIFI.