Yuntai Mountain in Central China's Henan Province created a landmark by being named National 5A Scenic Spot, after becoming a world geopark in 2004.

On May 8, the National Tourism Administration bestowed the title of National 5A Scenic Spot to the mountain after a comprehensive and strict evaluation of its infrastructure, environment and service quality.

Yuntai Mountain was among the first group of scenic spots to win the honor, which represents the highest national standard for such spots at present.

The administration has conferred the honor on only 66 scenic spots so far.

This notable achievement was the result of arduous efforts from the local government, Yuntai Mountain authorities and the people.

Both Tie Daisheng, secretary of the Jiaozuo municipal Party committee, and Lu Guoxian, Jiaozuo City mayor, paid great attention to the mountain's bid for a National 5A Scenic Spot.

They visited the mountain several times and gave instructions after conducting extensive field surveys.

The mountain administration bureau set up a special team to organize the work of building a national 5A scenic spot, with Han Yueping, the bureau's director, as its leader.

Their efforts transformed the mountain from an unknown spot of great natural beauty into a famous world geopark and a national 5A scenic spot.

The mountain authorities invited more than 60 experts to redesign the scenic spot and invested more than 600 million yuan in high-quality hardware construction.

For instance, all the toilets have been upgraded to at least three-star standard and offer free toilet paper.

The sightseeing paths have been rebuilt to help visitors get closer to nature and make their trip more safe and comfortable.

An advanced geology museum has also been set up, to spread geological awareness among visitors.

All facilities have been designed to be in harmony with the mountain's natural environment.

As one of the nation's first group of 18 pilot digital scenic spots, the mountain has invested 150 million yuan in the digitalization of its management and service equipment, such as the electronic entrance control system, intelligent monitoring system, multimedia demonstration, GPS vehicle dispatching, e-business, LED information release and an intelligent panorama guide map.

The number of tourists to the mountain has grown sharply in the past five years, as a direct result of improvement in the mountain's tourism hardware and software.

Last year, the mountain received 2.25 million tourists, 11.3 times that in 2001, while revenue from ticket sales reached 157 million yuan, 39.3 times as much as 2001.

In 2001, 90 percent of the mountain's visitors came from the province itself, while today 90 percent come from outside the province and China.

The development of the scenic spot has greatly promoted the development of the local economy.

By 2006, the Xiuwu County had 372 hotels and restaurants, 12.5 times as many as in 2000. Tourism revenue reached 650 million yuan, 12.9 percent of the county's gross domestic product.

Source: China Daily