Coal, copper & chocolate and their irresistible appeal

Although the country's industry tourism is still in its infancy, it has formed intact industrial systems featuring 262 resource-based cities, 145 national high-tech development zones and 219 national economic and technological zones, offering tremendous possibilities for tourism.

Industrial visits have evolved from simple visits to plants to shopping, learning industry knowledge and culture. More than twenty facilities have been named national industry tourism demonstration facilities, covering cosmetics, dairy products, drugs, silk, spice and wine. Then, of course, there is that chocolate mini-city that Mo has set up in Jiashan.

At first glance he may seem like an unlikely man for such an enterprise. After all, his father created a very successful packaging company, and earlier on it seemed that the son's future lay in cardboard.

Instead, after studying at Boston University for four years and obtaining a degree in finance, Mo returned to China and decided that it was in chocolate - something he had had a passion for since he was young - that his future lay.

Jiashan is well placed geographically to ride on the coat tails of other tourism centers, being about 80 kilometers from Shanghai and 100 kilometers from Hangzhou and Suzhou. Mo's ambitious plans for setting up a business in this field called not only for a factory, but also a cluster of related businesses and other activities aimed at drawing tourists.