Tourists are enjoying unique desert landscapes and immersing themselves in various sand-themed entertainment activities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Gansu Province during the ongoing National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, running from October 1 to 8.
The Lop Nur People Village in Xinjiang's Yuli County has attracted tourists from across China with its stunning natural scenery featuring desert, lakes and populus euphratica forest.
Located on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert with the Tarim River running through it, the site is home to one of the oldest ethnic groups in the region, steeped in the ancient culture of Lop Nur people.
The scenic spot reopened to visitors in August after a four-month renovation, boasting a unique blend of picturesque spectacles and historical and cultural charm.
"This is my first visit to the Lop Nur People Village after its renovation. It feels more culturally rich than before. The services and tourism experiences in the scenic area has been greatly improved. And the scenery is really wonderful," said Zhu Xiangfeng, a tourist.
In the neighboring province of Gansu, tourists have been offered a chance to take a hot air balloon ride and appreciate the magnificent desert landscape at the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring scenic spot in Dunhuang.
"I overlooked the Mingsha Mountain in the hot air balloon. It's really awe-inspiring, beautiful, and spectacular," said a tourist from Nanjing City of east China's Jiangsu Province.
In addition to traditional camel rides, this renowned tourist destination has launched off-road vehicles and motorcycles to attract younger visitors.
Vacationers enjoy desert scenery, activities in Xinjiang, Gansu
China will take further steps to expand high-standard opening-up and create a new landscape of win-win cooperation in 2026, which marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a recent interview with China Media Group.
Wang said opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit are integral to Chinese modernization. This year, China will actively expand voluntary opening up.
The country will steadily open up such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, while accelerating comprehensive pilot and demonstration programs for expanded opening-up in the services sector, he noted.
"We will expand the scope and regions of unilateral opening-up and ensure the implementation of zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the effective implementation of policies for special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, optimize the regional layout and coverage of pilot free trade zones, and support these zones in carrying out more robust institutional opening-up trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards and government procurement, so as to better leverage their role as comprehensive pilot platforms for reform and opening-up," said Wang.
Wang said China will promote the orderly planning of cross-border industrial and supply chains.
Efforts will be made to deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance integration and connectivity across production and supply chains, and encourage cooperation in areas including green development, the digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure and new energy so as to help build global production and supply chain partnerships that are equal, inclusive and constructive, he noted.
"We will give play to the platform role of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks and explore international markets through outward investment, achieve mutual promotion between investment and trade, and advance the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also improve the overseas comprehensive service system and the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform," said the minister.
In addition, China will participate constructively in global economic governance, according to the minister.
In 2026, Wang said, China will pursue flexible and pragmatic approaches to negotiate trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions, while strengthening economic and trade cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to further promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China to expand high-standard opening-up to foster win-win cooperation: minister
