Xu Yousheng announced the opening of the festival; Chen Junwen, Ge Hongyuan and other leaders attended the festival; Xiang Lili made a speech on the opening ceremony; Qu Hai hosted the ceremony

In the morning of November 8, 2014, 2014 China Chenzhou “City in the Forest, Leisure City”International (Hot Spring) Leisure Tourism and Cultural Festival was opened in the Hot Spring Square of Reshui town, Rucheng county.

Xu Yousheng- Member of Hunan Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Minister of Hunan Provincial Propaganda Department announced the opening of the festival; Chen Junwen- Vice Chairman of Hunan Provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee and Ge Hongyuan- Vice Chairman of Hunan Provincial CPPCC attended the opening ceremony. Xiang Lili- Secretary of Chenzhou Municipal Party Committee made a speech on the opening ceremony. Qu Hai- Deputy Secretary of Chenzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Chenzhou City hosted the ceremony.

Giovanni- Vice Chairman of FEDERATION MONDIALE DU THERMALISME ET DU CLIMATISME (short for FEMTEC) presented a board for Rucheng county. Liu Baoquan- former Inspector of Name Department of Civil Affairs Ministry and President of Association of Promotion and Protection of Chinese name cultural heritage inaugurated the board of “one-thousand-year ancient county”to Rucheng county. 

Zhang Yue- Vice Inspector of the State Tourism Bureau and Secretary-general of China Hot Spring Tourism Association stated on his speech delivered on the opening ceremony that Chenzhou city successfully transformed it from hot spring tourism economy to hot spring comprehensive industrial economy, from hot tourism experiencing to green hot spring leisure, and from hot spring scenic development to hot spring small town and hot spring complex, and from hot spring scenic brand to green hot spring comprehensive brand. Reshui hot spring preliminary began to take shape and was with its unique features that was worthy of being one of the typical leisure hot springs of south China. He promised that the association would pay more attention and support Chenzhou city’s construction of “hot spring city of China” and improvement of hot spring tourism.

Zhang Zhiheng- Director of Hunan Provincial Tourism Bureau said on his speech that Chenzhou city constructed series symbolic tourism projects which helped to enrich Hunan province’ tourism products system. Its tourism industry became of its pillar industries to promote its economic and social development and an important support to forge the upgrading version of Hunan tourism economy. With the key content of hot spring tourism experiencing and other rich, fresh and highlighted tourism, commercial, cultural and competition activities, it would be helpful to promote the transformation and upgrading of Rucheng and Chenzhou city’s tourism industry and expand the comprehensive driving effects of festival; would be helpful to attract more attention nationwide even worldwide to promote Chenzhou city’s tourism industry’s development, accelerate the reform, innovation, transformation and upgrading of Hunan province tourism industry, and inject more driving force to forge the upgrading version of Hunan tourism economy.

Xiang Lili delivered a speech on the opening ceremony and stated that in recent years, Chenzhou focused on the target of forging “city in the forest, leisure city” and placed best advantages of its unique tourism resources and ecological environment to promote the leisure tourism and hold a leisure festival every year. Such international leisure tourism and cultural festivals with different leisure tourism products greatly helped to promote Chenzhou city’s tourism development. Chenzhou city became one of the important poles of Hunan provincial tourism industry and became an emerging tourism city nationwide even worldwide. Leisure tourism became one of the famous name cards of Chenzhou tourism.

Xiang Lili said Chenzhou city is with abundant high quality hot spring resources and is a “hot spring city of China”. On the basis of the hot spring resources, Chenzhou city figured out the planning of hot spring’s development with the lead of Reshui, Rucheng county, key point of central urban area and supporting points of Rucheng, Yizhang, Yongxing, Anren and other counties. Chenzhou city was on the process to create series hot spring resorts with different features and drive the development of relative industries accordingly. It was purposely to upgrade Chenzhou city as a real “hot spring city of China” on the aspects of quantity, scale, quality, influence and competitiveness.

Xiang also stated that Chenzhou city would keep handling investment attraction activities to seize more chances of cooperation with the strategic investors, so people can have fun and also business chances there.

This festival would be last from November 8-23, 2014. 27 special activities as Xiang-Gan-Yue “red triangle” tent festival, “hot spring fitness, garden forum” peak forum and etc. would be carried out during the festival.

Principals of sub-ordinate departments of Hunan province, some municipal leaders of Chenzhou city, journalists from domestic and abroad, tourism merchants, representatives from HK and Macau and some honorable guests attended the opening ceremony.