New hotel to attract tourists to old city

Tourists from home and abroad will have more stay options when they visit Datong, a famous historic and cultural city in North China's Shanxi province, as the Chinese hotel group Ahn Luh Resorts & Residences expands its presence with a new high-end resort.

A signing ceremony was held on October 7 in Beijing, which marks the beginning of the hotel project.

Ahn Luh, founded in 2012, is a high-end lifestyle resort brand and aims to provide a "Chinese style of quality service", according to the brand’s official website.

“The new hotel will inject new elements into the ancient city of Datong,” said Song Yu, chairman of the Beijing Tourism Group (BTG), the parent company of Ahn Luh.

BTG is an enterprise operating in various areas of tourism, including travel agencies, dining, hotels, shopping and entertainment. It is also an investor of the Universal Beijing Resort.

“This is a very good example of cooperation and the hotel will contribute to local development,” Song added.

“Over the past ten years or so, Datong has experienced tremendous changes and people in our city can gradually enjoy quality service from Beijing,” said Zhang Jifu, secretary of the CPC Datong municipal committee, at the signing ceremony.

“We have not only the Yungang Grottoes, but also many other scenic spots. The city is boosting high-end tourism,” he added.

At present, the city is in a “golden period” of rapid culture and tourism development, according to Zhang.

Datong, the northernmost city of Shanxi, boasts abundant tourism resources, including the globally renowned cultural heritage site, the Yungang Grottoes. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites in China.

The grottoes were excavated on the south face of a sandstone cliff about 2,600 feet long and 30 to 60 feet high. In 2001, the Yungang Grottoes were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.