Hainan Roundabout Tourism Highway starts construction

The ceremony for the beginning of Hainan Roundabout Tourism Highway is held in Chengmai on Dec 31.[Photo/Hainan Daily]

A photo of the Shimei Bay section of Hainan Roundabout Tourism Highway in Wanning, Hainan.[Photo/Hainan Daily]

A ceremony was held on Dec 31, 2020 in Chengmai county to mark the start of construction on the Hainan Roundabout Tourism Highway, which is expected to connect scenic spots across Hainan and boost the local development of all-for-one tourism. 

The island province aims to use the road to link 12 coastal cities and counties with Yangpu Economic Development Zone, and to form Hainan's global tourism system into an organic whole. It also plans to develop a number of world-class leisure sites.

Compared with ordinary tourism attractions, the tourism road project is not limited to scenic spots, but expands to a wider area by integrating all tourism routes around the island in a network and meets tourist demands in terms of food, accommodation, travel, entertainment and shopping.

Stringent ecological and environmental protection regulations have been implemented and the routes for the tourism roads were decided following great deliberation. They have been designed to show off the natural and cultural highlights of Hainan's sea, wetlands, tropical rainforests and Danjia, Li and Miao cultures. 

The new generation of information technologies such as the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data and 5G will be used to build the world-leading smart transportation pilot project.

A total of 14.4 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) will be invested across the project. Its main line extends 988.2 kilometers, of which 453.2 kilometers will be newly built or reconstructed and 535 kilometers reused.