Shanxi province will improve its cultural and tourism industry by leveraging its rich resources and promoting cooperation at a major tourism event that kicked off on Friday.

Guests including representatives of foreign embassies in China, international tourism organizations and institutions, and foreign cultural and tourism enterprises came to the ancient county of Taiyuan in Shanxi province to participate in the launch ceremony of the 2024 Shanxi Tourism Development Conference.

The event will last until Sunday.

A comprehensive cultural and tourism work meeting of the province was convened on Friday morning.

"In addition, a series of supportive activities will be held, including international renowned IP enterprises and international travel agency visits to Shanxi, as well as an international tourism industry matchmaking meeting," said Wang Aiqin, director of Shanxi's department of culture and tourism.

"One innovative highlight of the conference is a series of supply and demand matchmaking activities for market entities," she said.

The Shanxi Tourism Development Conference has been held since 2015 and has become an important platform for enhancing Shanxi's image, promoting the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry, and expanding international exchanges and cooperation.

"Shanxi is renowned worldwide for three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Yungang Grottoes, Mount Wutai and the Ancient City of Pingyao," said Zhang Zhiren, deputy director of the department.

"Shanxi boasts 531 nationally protected cultural relics, ranking first across the country, and is called the Chinese Ancient Architectural Art Museum."

As of the end of last year, the total number of A-level tourist attractions in the province reached 390, including 10 5A-level attractions.

As co-organizer of this event, Li Yongqiang, deputy mayor of Taiyuan, highly recommended the city, which has a history of civilization dating back 5,000 years.

"We have prepared a luxury package for tourism investors, setting up a special fund of 1.3 billion yuan ($179 million), with project investments eligible for rewards of up to 50 million yuan," he said.

For travel agencies, those that attract visitors will be rewarded based on the number of tourists and those ranking top will be eligible for a one-time reward of up to 1 million yuan.

At the meeting, Thorir Ibsen, Iceland's ambassador to China, expressed his wish that direct flights between Iceland and China will be available in the next few years.

"This is my third time to Taiyuan. The Shanxi Museum is very exquisite and very beautiful," he said.

"The Xuankong Temple and the Yungang grottoes are also very impressive."