Area famous for its hot springs looks to revamp image with sporty investments

Anning in southwest China's Yunnan province is making efforts to become a beautiful, green and clean modern garden city.

The average annual temperature of Anning is 14.9 C and it has a forest coverage of 51.37 percent. The county-level city, 30 kilometers to the west of Yunnan's capital Kunming, is planning to build itself into a national tourism resort.

The city has been famous for hot springs since ancient times, which contain many trace elements essential to the human health These unique resources have attracted ancient and modern celebrities, including calligrapher Wang Jingxing. The city has developed its hot spring resources over 1,900 years. To prevent the destructive exploitation and waste of geothermal waters, Anning has implemented strict protection measures.

The local government has installed electronic metering and remote monitoring facilities on 29 spring water wells in core areas and 18 wells in surrounding areas.

Hosting tennis competitions is another important factor in promoting the city. The 2020 Chinese Tennis Association Tour was held in Anning between Aug 1-8, putting the city in the global spotlight.

Since 2012, the city has hosted many international tennis competitions, including ones by the Association of Tennis Professionals, Women's Tennis Association and International Tennis Federation, attracting world-renowned players.

To better promote its advantages, Anning plans to build an international hot spring and tennis town that integrates culture, tourism and entertainment.

The city also started the construction on an international football school last August.

It plans to build 16 normal pitches, an intelligent European Union court, La Liga cultural exhibition center and business center, as well as a physical training center and sports rehabilitation medical base for players.

The football school will be the world's first full-time La Liga international football school, and is expected to enroll 3,000 students when it opens. Top football coaches of La Liga and teachers from famous international football schools are to deliver training and launch youth football competitions, in an effort to popularize football culture, widen the path to football professionalization and cultivate football professionals in Anning.

La Liga President Javier Tebas said nearby Kunming has the genes of football culture and a strong identity to aid the development of youth football in Anning.

La Liga attaches great importance to the project. It regards a responsibility and opportunity for La Liga and an important step of its Chinese strategy.

It also reflects their determination to help China develop football at all levels, he added.

In southern Anning, which aims to build a recreation leisure base, the county-level city produces products characteristic of its highlands, such as roses and pears.

Bajie town in Anning is 1,940 meters above sea level. With an annual average temperature of 14.8 C, it's an ideal place to plant edible roses. The town has more than 70 years of history in planting roses. In that time, the crop area of edible roses in Bajie has expanded from 100 hectares to more than 730.

In 2019, annual production reached more than 5,000 metric tons, valued at more than 100 million yuan($14.45 million).

It helped more than 3,200 flower farmers increase their income.

The town sold more than 500 tons of rose juice, vinegar and other beverages and it produces more than 5 million flower cakes a year.

Because of the unique climate, the roses planted in Bajie have a strong fragrance, light astringency and a high trace element content, which makes them popular with food companies.

There are eight companies in Bajie focused on the processing of roses. Every May, food company purchasers nationwide go to them to buy roses.

Xianjie town in Anning is famous for its red pears, which are rich in nutrition.

They contain not only high proteins, fats and sugars, but also trace elements and vitamins, including calcium, iron and zinc.

The pear was assessed as a famous Chinese fruit by the China Fruit Marketing Association in 2007.