International travel expo to be held in Sichuan

The third Sichuan International Travel Expo will be held from September 22 to 28 in Emeishan, a city under the administration of Leshan in Sichuan province.

Exhibitors from 42 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany, France, Malaysia, Japan and Korea, will take part in the expo, one of Sichuan's most important tourism events and one of three themed expos hosted by the Sichuan provincial government.

The total exhibition area will reach 66,000 square meters, organizers say.

The annual event, which debuted in 2014, is aimed at creating an international platform for the cooperation and exchanges in the tourism industry, transaction of tourism products, and the exhibition and sales of mountain tourism, according to Leshan mayor Zhang Tong.

This year's event will consist of eight activities, including the opening ceremony, the Emei Summit, a trip to Sichuan's best tourism routes and a tourism projects signing ceremony.

After the success of the inaugural Sichuan International Travel Expo in 2014, Emeishan was designated as the event's permanent site, Zhang said.

Emeishan is best known for Mount Emei, one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China. The others are Wutai in Shanxi province, Jiuhua in Anhui province and Putuo in Zhejiang province.

Buddhism reached Mount Emei about 2,000 years ago, and the mountain, with its approximately 30 monasteries, is a pilgrimage for Buddhists today.

Emei is a poetic term for "beautiful women" in Chinese.

Spread over 154 square kilometers, Mount Emei was included in the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage List in 1996.

The mountain offers a panoramic view of the landscape throughout the year.

In spring, its azaleas are brilliantly red. In summer, its lush green trees and grass give it a verdant look. In autumn, the mountain is a riot of colors, the green, yellow, orange and red of the trees mingling with the blue of the sky. And in winter, the mountain becomes a white wonderland, with the ancient temples, trees and mountain slopes covered in snow.

Leshan, which oversees the city of Emeishan, is also a world-famous tourist destination. The Leshan Grand Buddha, with a height of 71 meters, is the world's largest sitting Buddha.

Leshan received nearly 40 million tourists from home and abroad last year, generating total revenue of some 50 billion yuan ($7.5 billion).