Tuesday, March 19, 2019
South China’s island province of Hainan will build a scenic highway around the main island this year in order to boost its tourism infrastructure.
Work on the highway around the island is expected to begin in May.
The route known as Hainan Highway 1, will provide breathtaking views, with one-fifth or 208 kms stretching along the sea and other parts passing by cliffs, wetlands, dunes, grasslands, farmlands and forests.
The two-lane highway will link with 6,000 kms of existing roads in 12 coastal cities and counties to create a 1,040-kms loop around the island province.
The project will be supported by 5G technology, GPS positioning and big data, for intelligent management and real-time monitoring. It will also include pilot projects for driverless vehicles and vehicle charging, according to the highway plan.
The road would be completed in three to five years, and is expected to develop Hainan into a globally influential tourism destination by 2035.
Wu Gang of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning said that preparations are in the pipeline and bidding invitations will be sent out in the latter half of this year to world-leading designers of tourism stations.
More than 76 million domestic and overseas tourists visited the island province last year, with tourism revenue growing 14.5 percent over the previous year to more than 95 billion Yuan.
Tags: hainan
