A glimpse of new scenic spots made famous by popular fiction

Taohua Island (Peach Blossom Island) uses its role in Jin Yong's Kung Fu novels to enhance its popularity. [File photo]

Taohua Island (Peach Blossom Island) in Zhejiang province

Taohua Island (Peach Blossom Island) is one of the islands of the Zhoushan Archipelago, under the administration of Putuo District in Zhejiang province. It is mentioned many times in the famous Kung Fu novels Condor Trilogy and The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong, one of the most influential modern Chinese novelists as well as a co-founder of the Hong Kong newspaper, Ming Pao Weekly.

To attract more visitors, the administrators of the island tried their best to present the architecture and scenery related to Jin’s works. They built the residence of the leading roles in the stories, named restaurants and hotels for major characters, and even planned to spend 2 million yuan ($312, 600) to create a statue of Jin Yong.

According to Mr. Yao, an official in charge of publicity on the island, they used Jin Yong as a brand to develop tourism there.

"We just want to enlarge the popularity of our scenic spot. In that case, we'd like to do anything as long as it is good for the development of tourism. Mr. Jin once said something similar as well," he added.