Chengde, in north China's Hebei province, will strive to develop itself into a world-famous tourist destination, stated a senior city official.

The city's party secretary, Yang Rui, said the city, with its favorable location, rich resources, ecological landscape and historical significance, is set to become an international tourist city.

Chengde Summer Resort, built in the 18th century as a getaway for the Qing Dynasty (1936-1911) royal family, has been declared a World Cultural Heritage site along with Eight Tibetan Buddhist Outer Temples located nearby. These sites represent the foundation upon which the city will strive to become a world class tourism destination, stated Zhang Gujiang, the city's mayor, adding that Chengde possesses "unique resources for the boost of tourism".

To conserve cultural heritage sites, in 2009 the city government moved its offices away from the areas where the heritage sites are located, and residents have also been encouraged to move away from the areas.

In recent years, the city government combined Chengde's cultural attractions with the promotion of recreational activities such as skiing and hunting, and integrating these with history, Buddhism, local customs and areas of natural beauty around Chengde.

In 2009, Chengde received over 10 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 43.2 percent, with tourism revenue totaling 7.2 billion RMB (US$ 1.09 billion), a year-on-year rise of 42.7 percent. During the past year, over 13 million people from home and abroad visited the city bringing in revenues of over 8.8 billion RMB (US$ 1.33 billion).

By 2015, the city is expected to have received 35 million visitors, with revenue from tourism having reached over 40 billion RMB (US$ 6.06 billion).

By Guo Changdong and Chen Keyu