7. Major tourist festival held in Shanxi.

The First International Cultural Festival on Ancient Towns along the Belt and Road and the 2nd Global Travel Buyers Conference in Shanxi took place on Aug 28-Sept 1, 2015.

Travel business people and media reporters from 11 countries and regions, 16 directors of ancient towns and cities and 274 representatives of travel agencies across China, and over 400 participants from scenic spots, hotels, and tourist bureaus took part in promotions and meetings during the conference.

8. Tourism promotion went global.

Promotions of Shanxi tourism have taken place in many regions across the country since April, 2015, including the provinces of Sichuan, Hubei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Gansu, and Qinghai, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, and Chongqing city.

The province also held promotional activities in Taiwan from Nov 3-10, 2015, presenting aspects of its local culture such as cooked wheaten food and folk songs.

9. The ancient city of Pingyao was added to the list of 5A scenic spots.

The ancient city of Pingyao, in central Shanxi province, was added to China's 5A scenic spots in July, 2015.

As of 2015 the province had six 5A scenic spots, namely the Wutai Mountain scenic spot, the Yungang Grottoes, Imperial City, the Mianshan Mountain scenic spot, the Courtyard of Family Qiao, and the ancient city of Pingyao, and 86 4A scenic spots.

The ancient city of Pingyao [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

10. Two of Shanxi's travel agencies ranked among top 100 in China.

Two travel agencies in Shanxi, the Shanxi Huabao Shengshi Shengshi International Travel Service Co Ltd and Shanxi Hongma International Travel Service Co Ltd, were listed among the top 100 travel agencies in China for 2014 for the first time, ranking 28th and 57th respectively. The list was announced by the China national tourist bureau in November, 2015.