The Longhua Tourism City opened Tuesday morning at the beat of the largest drum in China -- the Longhua Gaogu Drum -- by Zhou Muyao, vice mayor of Shanghai.
With more than 1,000 years of history, Longhua is an ancient town that is located in the suburbs of Shanghai. The project to reconstruct the city into a tourism center was a key program set by the National Tourism Administration.
The first phase of the construction area of 60,000 square meters, and three ancient style buildings were completed, with cloisters, pavilions and terraces erected in harmony with the previous ancient temple and tower to create an atmosphere of the city in its ancient time.
The project also restored the extinct historic spots and added some new attractions.
A number of shops, in ancient style, have been set up, selling jewelry gold and silver, books, paintings and calligraphy, or serving tea, and Chinese and foreign style food.
(Xinhua 01/02/2001)
