Helicopter tour touches down in Wuxi

A new type of tourism is taking off in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, as a local sightseeing spot launches a helicopter tour to give visitors a new way to see the region's picturesque scenery.

Xuelang Mountain scenic spot's first airborne tour took to the skies on Sept 27, whizzing a group of lucky visitors around local landmarks including Turtle Head Island, Wuxi Movie Base and Changguangxi Wetland Park.

The scenic spot in Binhu district plans to offer two different flight routes: A 12-minute tour that takes in sights such as Huallywood—another local film and TV studio complex—, Turtle Head Isle, Lihu Lake and Wuxi Movie Base; or a 25-minute route that heads all the way to Lingshan Mountain to allow tourists to see the famous giant Buddha statue.

Xuelang is not the only place helping visitors to Wuxi reach for the skies. There are also plans underway to build a flight club called Taihu Flight Club.

The club should be completed by the end of 2018, and the complex will also include an aviation museum, a themed hotel and restaurant, and an aerospace technology-themed “recreation experience zone” in addition to the facilities for operating light aircraft flights, according to local media reports.