The photo taken on September 3, 2009, shows the entrance of the Fenghuang Ancient Town in China's Hunan Province. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Located in southwest China, the ancient town of Phoenix is waking up from its centuries-long sleep.
The history of the town, called "Fenghuang" in Chinese, could date back as early as the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC). The town is in Fenghuang County of Hunan Province, where Tujia and Miao ethnic groups have lived for thousands of years. Historically, Fenghuang remained poor, with only small-scale agriculture and industry. It may have been hard for local residents to imagine that one day tourists to the ancient town would bring the town 190 million yuan, or 27.8 million US dollars, in income per year, almost 58 percent of the GDP of the whole county. But today it is actually the truth.
The government of Fenghuang County decided to develop the tourism industry after the South Great Wall was discovered in 2000. In 2002, an experienced touring company that marketed the famous nearby tourist attraction Zhangjiajie was authorized to manage Fenghuang's tourism industry. That was the beginning of the ancient town's remarkable story.
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