China is contemplating the construction of a greater tourism-based economic sphere around the Three Gorges on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, the country's longest river.

Gu Chaoxi, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration, said the planned sphere will cover the scenic sites in Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing Municipality. The area will offer more tourism routes, he said.

A task force has been put in place by organizations including the National Tourism Administration and the Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Construction Committee of the State Council to work out the details for exploring tourism in areas around the Three Gorges and the Three Gorges Project which will be the world's largest water control facility.

It is the first time in China that a regional tourism development program is being planned at state level.

Lu Bin, a specialist on the task force and a professor at Beijing University, said, "After the Three Gorges reservoir begins to store water early this June, the center of the Three Gorges tourism economy will naturally move eastward, with the dam as the main attraction."

In the past, Three Gorges tourism had been concentrated in Hubei Province and Chongqing Municipality, from which the mighty Yangtze River flows east to the sea. Kuimen, Baidi Town and Mount Shennu at Wuxia Gorge have been the most visited.

According to experts on the task force, the Three Gorges Dam, Xiling Gorge downstream and Gezhouba Dam will be the main spots for the development of tourism around the Three Gorges region.

The provinces involved have been preparing for exploiting tourism resources. Over the past two years, Hubei Province has spent 200 million yuan (about US$24.1 million) on improving its tourism infrastructure, transport conditions and ecological environment.

Yichang City of Hubei, the city nearest to the Three Gorges Project and the main venue of a series of activities designed to mark World Travel Day this year, will use 40 million US dollars of overseas capital to construct 24 new major tourism programs.

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