Heading from the Middle Kingdom to Middle Earth
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Panorama with late autumn colors in Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, MacKenzie District, New Zealand. Rob Suisted / Naturespic.co.nz |
When New Zealand film icon Peter Jackson brought the final installment of his Hobbit trilogy - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - to China last week, he told a news conference in Beijing that his homeland is the perfect place to portray Middle Earth.
He didn't need to shoot anywhere else, he says.
And this geological appeal has been reshaping that nation's tourism landscape.
This encouraged Tourism New Zealand to present some Hobbit-based itineraries at last week's news conference in Beijing.
Highlights include scenic flights over Lake Pukaki - the location of Middle Earth's lake-town - in the heart of South Island, and hiking and cycling tours through North Island's Mount Ruapehu.
Travelers can also visit Weta Workshop, an Oscar-winning conceptual design and manufacturing facility in Wellington, to get behind-the-scenes glimpses of Jackson's work.
The country's summertime and peak tourism season spans November to March.
Tourism New Zealand Asia's general manager David Craig expects the coming Chinese New Year in February - not long after the final film's release - to mark a new peak in Chinese visitors to his country.
