Panzhihua, China: Creating a New Benchmark for the Recuperation and Health Preservation Industry

In December 2019, the 10th Panzhihua Joy and Sunshine Festival kicked off under the joint sponsorship of the Panzhihua Municipal People's Government of Sichuan Province, China, and the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. The Joy and Sunshine Festival is Panzhihua's annual tourism festivity, and has been hosted to great fanfare for nine straight years since inception in 2010. The campaign will continue until February 2020.

At the onset of winter, the majority of China ushers in the coldest season of the year. But looking back, since November, a total of eight national-level large-scale activities already took place in Panzhihua: From the 2019 Democratic League of China Legal Governance Forum and the Honest Government Research Annual Academic Symposium 2019 to the Tour of Panzhihua 2019 cycling race and the final contest of the National Hiking Trail Premier League...what makes Panzhihua so charmingly attractive? The answer is actually quite clear. Other than the rapidly expanding local vanadium and titanium industry, the warm and comfortable winter climate and the top-notch environment conducive to recuperation and health preservation are key reasons that have turned Panzhihua into a magnet for all sorts of large-scale events and conferences.

Mecca for Recuperation and Health Preservation, Environment Greatly Suited for Residence

The city of Panzhihua is located in southwestern China and is the only city in China named after a flower. The plant, pan zhi hua or mu mian hua in Chinese, is known by various names such as cotton tree, red-silk cotton or red-cotton, which blossoms in January and February each year, enveloping the city in a gorgeous sea of red.

Panzhihua is located at 26 degrees north along with other world-famous vacation heavens like Hawaii and Miami of the U.S. and Okinawa of Japan. The city averages 2,700 hours of sunshine and a temperature of 20.3 degrees centigrade over the year. The unique climatic and geographical conditions bestow Panzhihua with sunshine almost 365 days a year, and natural conditions here in an immaculate fusion. In recent years, Panzhihua has been named various titles such as "Top Ten Cities for Air Environment in China", "Best City for Senior Habitat in China" and "Top Tourism City for Winter Escape in China", and Panzhihua has maintained a rate of more than 90% for excellent air quality for five consecutive years. Relying on its unique natural conditions, Panzhihua in recent years has dedicated emphatic efforts to cultivate its recuperation and health preservation industry, and to position itself as an international sunshine, recuperation and health preservation tourist destination.

As early as back in 2017, Panzhihua became among the first pioneers to publish local standards for recuperation and health preservation industry base, and founded the first recuperation and health preservation academy in the country. At present, Panzhihua has edged its way into a number of top echelons such as the first group of National Medical Care and Health Preservation Trial Site Cities of China, National Smart Recuperation, Health Preservation and Senior Care Model Base, Top 50 Cities for Recuperation and Health Preservation in China and Top 50 Cities for Livability Competitiveness in China.

Following the growth of the recuperation and health preservation industry, tourists influx into Panzhihua also ballooned quickly, reaching 22 million person/times in 2018, while the whole city's tourism income rose by 20% compared to 2017. In addition, many middle-aged individuals and seniors from places like Beijing, Chengdu and Xi'an have opted to purchase real estate in Panzhihua, as they prefer to spend the winter in the city just like migratory birds that seek warm havens.

Copious sunshine and suitable night-day temperature difference have endowed fruits from Panzhihua with an extra degree of plumpness and sweetness. As Sichuan's one and only tropical fruit production base, the city is famed for the high quality of fruits like mango, loquat, pomegranate, wax apple, strawberry and cherry. In particular, Panzhihua's mangos are highly sought after across the globe because they come from one of the northernmost and highest places of origin for mangos, which result in late maturation and superb quality.

Combination of Medical Care and Health Preservation, Creation of New High Ground for Recuperation and Health Preservation Industry

As a National Integrated Medical Care and Health Preservation Industry Model Zone, while fostering the recuperation and health preservation as its pillar industry, active steps have been taken to explore and develop supplementary area like medical care, education, commerce and sports. The Panzhihua Municipal Government has invested tremendously in this regard, and has succeeded in the introduction of a myriad of projects and real estate companies to construct the supplementary facilities.

In terms of medical care, although the urban population of Panzhihua numbers only 780,000, but across the city are six grade-three hospitals and eight grade-two hospitals, with medical care and sanitation resources per capita ranked in the forefront of Sichuan Province. In order to generate synergy with the growth of the recuperation and health preservation industry, Panzhihua has set up daytime care centers for seniors in hospitals, established medical clinics in senior care organizations, and guided hospitals and senior care institutions to jointly create integrated medical care-health preservation service platforms, among a series of other measures, so as to promote the development of the "recuperation and health preservation + medical care industry".

At the 1st Panzhihua Culture and Creativity Development Convention held just recently, it was stipulated that the concepts of "bodily preservation, spiritual preservation, mental preservation, winter escape, summer escape, smog escape" will be the central guidance for efforts in speeding up the construction of five international recuperation and health preservation tourism and vacation zones like the Hong Ge Hot Spring Tourism and Vacation Zone, Pu Da Sunshine International Recuperation and Health Preservation Industry Vacation Zone, ten special recuperation and health preservation villages, a hundred recuperation and health preservation tour-stay locations, as well as 50 integrated medical care + health preservation spots. Panzhihua's plan-makers are aiming for 50 billion yuan in total tourism income and 50 million person/times in received visitors by 2025.

In addition, Panzhihua is also adopting an active approach to strengthen medical care + health preservation supports in aspects such as human resource, information and scientific research, so as to create optimal medical care + health preservation environment and conditions for visitors and citizens, and to drive the highly efficient and sustainable development of the sunshine recuperation and health preservation industry.

In the future, Panzhihua will accelerate city construction, emphatically promote the development of its transportation, education, medical care, information and culture, and establish itself as the gateway for Sichuan's southward opening-up efforts. Measures will be taken to build a modern and comprehensive transportation and commute system, engender and advance the advancement of a healthy Panzhihua, and forge a medical care service brand recognized for its distinguished quality. The city will also promote the organic integration between the big data industry, recuperation and health preservation industry and other industries, so as to bolster the orderly and healthy growth of the recuperation and health preservation industry, and to create a benchmark of the Chinese recuperation and health preservation industry.

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