Pingtan, the Chinese mainland's closest place to Taiwan Island and one of China's two state-approved national-level international tourism islands, is ramping up emerging sports and cultural tourism layouts to enrich its island tourism offerings and advance the development of its international tourism island.

An outdoor sports expert surveys the cliff faces.

Recently, the Tourism, Culture and Sports Bureau of Pingtan mobilized a team of outdoor sports experts to assess the feasibility of rock climbing, Via Ferrata and cliff descent at the Celestial Well scenic area. Renowned for its unique marine erosion landforms and spectacular coastal vistas, the scenic area saw the team carefully inspect the cliff walls' geological structure, height drop, safety load capacity and surrounding environment. The technical assessment aims to evaluate the potential of immersive extreme sports here, turning the scenic area's once only viewable cliffs into accessible, experiential sports venues.

Xue Ke, an outdoor sports professional, said, "The SRT (Single Rope Technique) cliff descent project requires step-by-step high-altitude descent, with strict demands for rock formations and tensile strength. Pingtan's rugged terrain is ideal for enthusiasts with a certain sports foundation."

This assessment is a concrete step for Pingtan to develop marine, low-altitude, auto racing and rock climbing sports. In the next five years, Pingtan will strengthen its three core IPs of auto racing, kitesurfing and baseball, while expanding hiking, pickleball, rock climbing and other diverse products to boost tourism consumption stickiness via industrial upgrading.

Chen Min, an official from the Tourism, Culture and Sports Bureau's Sports Department, noted the site visit is more than a regular resource check—it is a professional, precise assessment of Pingtan's cultural and tourism resources. "The Celestial Well scenic area's cliff walls are unique and scarce. On the premise of strict ecological protection, we will introduce low-interference, high-quality outdoor sports to develop rock climbing and cliff descent, driving tourists to shift from 'viewing scenery' to 'experiencing scenery' and enriching Pingtan's cultural and tourism product system."

Going forward, the bureau will further verify the project's compliance and safety with the survey data, and strive to build the scenic area into an integrated outdoor sports resort soon, injecting new vitality into the construction of Pingtan International Tourism Island. The bureau will now assess the data to confirm the project's safety and feasibility, aiming to transform the area into a premier outdoor sports destination—a key step in advancing the development of Pingtan International Tourism Island.