Hangzhou Zhijiang National Tourist and Holiday Resort

The Hangzhou Zhijiang National Tourist and Holiday Resort (ZNTHR,杭州之江国家旅游度假区) is one of the 12 state-level tourist and holiday resorts set up upon the approval of the State Council in Oct 1992. The resort, covering an area of 9.88 square kilometers, lies southwest to Hangzhou, north of the Qiantang River and south of Wuyun Mountain. The resort accommodates the three themed projects of the Song Dynasty Town, Future World, an experiential theme park, and Hangzhou West Lake International Golf and Country Club, as wellas a group of holiday areas such as Jiuxi Rose Garden.

The Song Dynasty Town

Combining the culture of the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) and the natural scenery of West Lake, the Song Dynasty Town fully displays the prosperous scene of the era by employing a combination of realistic and romantic techniques.

The town comprises a Culture Performance Area, a High-Tech Experience Area, the Liangshan Brothers' Recreation Area, the Children's Recreation Area, a Marketplace (Shijing) Street, the Fairy Mountains and Buddhist Grottoes Area, the Song River, Rostrum Square and Southern Song Imperial Stone Slate Street. A large-scale singing and dance performance named Thousand-Year Love in the Song Dynasty Town, which employs advanced technology to display the glory of the Song Dynasty, attracts thousands of visitors each day.

In 2014, the Song Dynasty Town received 5.32 million tourists, bringing in a revenue of 355 million yuan ($53.22 million).

Relaxation and vacation, cultural creativity and high and emerging technology are three leading industries of ZNTHR, which is also aiming to accelerate its economic transition and upgrading, build a modern industrial system and attract investment.

Situated at the juncture of ZNTHR and Xihu district, Hangzhou Zhijiang Culture Town was established in 2008, through the joint efforts of the ZNTHR and Xihu district, to develop Hangzhou's cultural and creative industry. Integrating industrial development and incubation, exhibition, art, leisure and unique supporting services, it was designated as a "National University Science (Creativity) Park of China Academy of Art" by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology in November 2010, becoming the first state-level university science park characterized by artistic creativity.

In 2014, ZNTHR's GDP totaled 1.45 billion yuan ($2.17 billion). Contract foreign investment reached $397 million and foreign investment in actual use stood at $249 million. Fixed-asset investment in 2014 totaled 14.34 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 20.1 percent.

In the future, ZNTHR will make efforts to be a demonstration base of national tourism resorts, ecological civilization, coordinative development of urban-rural areas, and a livable district, as well as to be a cultural industry cluster in Zhejiang.