North China's Shanxi province saw 18 cultural and tourism project contracts worth 31.72 billion yuan ($4.67 billion) signed at the Shanxi Culture and Tourism Investment and Financing Project Fair, held in the local city of Xinzhou on Sept 10.

The projects included an eco-tourism area, a cultural tourism and health care center, a digital light show, an international ice and snow tourism resort and an international children's art amusement park.

The fair focused on introducing and promoting 1,236 cultural, tourism, exhibition and convention, as well as health care projects to investors, said Wang Aiqin, director of the Shanxi Culture and Tourism Department.

She said that cities in Shanxi together with investors, developers and operators inside and outside the province would make full use of province's cultural and tourism resources.

They would also increase the reputation of Shanxi as a brand and promote the high-quality development of Shanxi's cultural and tourism industries, she added.