The 68-Nautical-Mile Scenic Area of Pingtan is the place on the mainland closest to the island of Taiwan, only 68 nautical miles away from Hsinchu, Taiwan. The scenic area was accredited as an AA-level tourist attraction in 2020. 

Pingtan, an island off E China’s Fujian province, grew “no grass but rocks.” Pingtan has transformed into an international tourist island by leveraging its unique landscape since it was approved for the construction of an international tourism island in 2016.

According to the Tourism, Culture and Sports Bureau of Pingtan, Pingtan received 6.8419 million tourists from home and abroad in 2021, with tourism revenue of 6.1 billion yuan, equivalent to 8.2 times and 40 times those of 2011.

With the booming tourism, Pingtan brought up its cultural and creative and B&B industries.

Lin Zhiyuan from Taiwan came to Beigang Village, a remote small fishing village in the northeast of Pingtan Island and rented vacant stone dwellings to create the “Stones Sing” art tribe that integrates B&Bs, cafes, and cultural and creative workshops. 

Driven by Lin Zhiyuan, Beigang Village has gradually brought together young makers from both sides of the Taiwan Straits. The village’s tourism revenue has increased from zero to an annual average of over 20 million yuan. 

As of now, including the 68-Nautical-Mile Scenic Area, there are 5 A -level scenic spots in Pingtan. Among them are Tannan Bay-Haitan Ancient (4A-level attraction), Celestial Well (3A-level attraction), Shipaiyang (3A-level), and Aoqian Taiwan-themed Town (3A-level). The number of registered B&B and travel services reached 330 and 59, respectively.

Pingtan also has been diversifying its tourism products:

Longwangtou, one of the largest bathing beaches in China, is a must-visit. It is ideal for numerous beach and water sports. International events such as kitesurfing and cycling and national beach volleyball matches took place here for years. Since 2017, Pingtan has been honored among the “Top Ten Sports Tourism Destinations in China” for five consecutive years.

Pingtan strives to build the "Haisi (Maritime Silk Road)" cultural tourism brand with several ongoing projects- a maritime silk road museum and an underwater relics museum spearheading the effort. Exploration of the island's Austronesian culture deepens with an Austronesian-themed ruins park down the pipeline.

Pingtan plans to promote 40 tourism, culture, and sports projects such as Pingtan International Racing Carnival and hold 40 activities in terms of music, kiteboarding, and cycling.

“Pingtan will continue to enrich tourism products and make ceaseless efforts to build a vigorous destination for tourists on a global scale,” said Weng Bin, deputy director of the Tourism, Culture, and Sports Bureau of Pingtan. 

Source: Chinanews.com.

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