A performance is staged at the opening ceremony of the 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Healthcare Industry Development Conference on Aug 25. [Photo/Yellow River News]

The 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Healthcare Industry Development Conference was held in Jincheng, a livable city in North China's Shanxi province, on Aug 25-27.

The conference was hosted by the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Shanxi Provincial People's Government, and the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

More than 300 guests attended the opening ceremony on Aug 25, including officials from relevant national ministries, some foreign diplomats and international organization leaders, experts, scholars, and business leaders in health and wellness sectors, as well as officials from cities in and outside of Shanxi, and insiders from the tourism industry.

The three-day conference featured activities, including a theme summit, a wellness and tourism carnival, investment promotions, a travel agency conference, and a journalist tour of the city.

The summit on Aug 26 brought together these insiders in the healthcare, wellness, and tourism sectors to contribute their wisdom to advance the related industrial high-quality development in Shanxi.

According to Zhou Shanzhong, a UN World Tourism Organization Tourism Ambassador, the development of the health and wellness industry in Shanxi requires the construction of world-class health and wellness tourism reception facilities, the integrated development of traditional Chinese medicine and cultural industries with Shanxi characteristics, and cooperation with internationally famous health and wellness tourist destinations on developing new health and wellness tourism products and routes. 

The theme summit of the 2023 China Shanxi (Jincheng) Healthcare Industry Development Conference takes place on Aug 26. [Photo provided to goshanxi.com.cn]

Zhang Hui, deputy director of the Expert Committee of the World Tourism Cities Federation, provided suggestions for tourism product design in Shanxi. 

He recommended developing an ecological and healthy tourism product and spatial system based on the province's geographic morphology, climate, and ecological environment; developing a sports and healthy tourism product and spatial system based on mountainous areas, canyons, and water bodies; and forming a research-based health and wellness tourism product and spatial system centered around health-themed study vacation resorts, as well as health education and training. 

The three-day conference saw agreements on 31 projects with a total investment of 30.6 billion yuan ($4.21 billion) inked. These projects involve health and wellness tourism, senior care, pharmaceuticals, food, and modern service industries.

In recent years, Shanxi has focused on developing distinctive health and wellness products and services based on its diverse resource advantages. Jincheng, in particular, has been awarded the World Health Care Demonstration City title by the International Institute on the Ageing of the United Nations due to its pleasant climate, beautiful environment, and efforts to improve healthcare facilities, wellness, and leisure. 

Shanxi will accelerate its development into a world-class cultural tourism destination, encourage capital to participate in developing the healthcare and wellness sectors, and introduce a package of support policies.