AsiaNet 85306

WANZHOU, China, September 1, 2020 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

Wanzhou District of west China's Chongqing Municipality is a lake city, and it made a splash in the evening of Aug. 27 with a livestreaming show put on to promote its tourism and culture products. Livestreamed in 12 online platforms, the show gained 35.42 million views and 11.27 million likes with Wanzhou's beautiful landscape and rich resources, according to the Publicity Department of Wanzhou District.

Located in the heart of the Three Gorges reservoir area, Wanzhou boasts a long history and profound culture, and has been the place attracting scholars to stop by for appreciation since ancient times. In the past 1800 years, the Chongqing culture, the Three Gorges culture, the immigrant culture, the Anti-Japanese War culture and the revolution culture have met and merged in Wanzhou, creating a unique local culture.

In 2006, the grand Three Gorges Dam was completed. After impoundment, Wanzhou witnessed the emergence of a string of lakes. Later 29 city parks and 26 city squares were built in Wanzhou, forming an interconnected waterfront space. A new city with lakes, mountains and tall buildings accompanying each other came into being. In 2016, Wanzhou's lake landscape was rated as one of the top ten new tourist attractions of the new Three Gorges.

When people come to Wanzhou, they must visit the three important landmarks. The Western Hills bell tower, which has been standing on the banks of the Yangtze River for nearly a century, is an impressive combination of Chinese and Western styles. It still rings on time. The Ba Du power plant was built and then provided power support to the industrial and mining enterprises that moved in 80 years ago. The plant's old units are still generating electricity. The ruins of Tiansheng Ancient City, which survived the Anti-Yuan War in the late Southern Song Dynasty, occupied an important position in Sichuan's city defense system and the history of the Song and Yuan wars.

The Chongqing Three Gorges Immigrant Memorial Hall is another must-go place in Wanzhou. It keeps a complete record of the history of Three Gorges immigrants and the construction of the reservoir area. A few days ago, the museum, together with Fujian Gutian Conference Memorial Hall and Hebei Xibaipo Memorial Hall, was selected as the first batch of pilot units on revolution culture as part of a national project to preserve and promote Chinese national culture.

The Wanzhou Waterfall is also worth visiting. It is called the first waterfall in Asia. The waterfall is 151 meters wide, 64.5 meters high and covers an area of 9739.5 square meters. It is one of the few waterfalls that can be viewed from all angles.

There are three popular local food: Wanzhou noodles, steamed food and roasted fish. In 2018, Wanzhou was officially recognized as the hometown of grilled fish in China.

Besides, Wanzhou is a good place to buy gifts related with the Three Gorges. The unique climate of the lakes in the Three Gorges nourishes rich Wanzhou produce, such as the local citrus, plums and tangerines sent to the space for breeding. The wooden comb brand Carpenter Tan is well known, so are the crisp and refreshing pickled mustard tuber in Yuquan and the spicy beef jerky. The Three Gorges embroidery and stones are quite distinctive while local Tiancong tea boast a lingering aftertaste.

The water town has witnessed longstanding peace and prosperity, echoed by the loud and exciting working songs in the old days and now by arias of slow life. In Wanzhou, one can walk in the streets for a taste of the thousand-year elegance of the Xishan Monument and the Tiansheng Ancient City. A stroll by the river bank to watch the sunset in the Western Hills or the morning light shining above forests is another good choice. Sailing on the lake to enjoy the night views and rippling waves is also recommended.

Wanzhou has always prioritized ecological conservation to boost green development. By seizing the opportunity to build the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, Wanzhou is making every effort to build a regional central city and an economic center in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. It also plans to grow into a tourist distribution center and an important destination in the Great Three Gorges Reservoir Area by promoting its geographical advantages in the Three Gorges tourism as well as development prospects.

For more information, please visit http://www.wz.gov.cn/.

Source: The Publicity Department of Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality

--BERNAMA