China to reopen parts of devastated Sichuan province to tourists
Updated
China's earthquake-hit Sichuan province will reopen some tourist services to the public from today in a bid to revive its tourism industry.
Sichuan province is home to most of the world's giant pandas and suffered serious damage in last month's earthquake.
The head of Sichuan's provincial tourism bureau says tourist facilities in six cities and 30 counties, which together made up for 15 percent of the entire province's tourism revenue last year, were directly affected by the earthquake.
Other areas, including the panda habitat, were only partially damaged.
Mr Zhang says tourism services in Sichuan will resume in three phases, with a full recovery expected around 2010.
