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CIRCULAR OF THE STATE COUNCIL CONCERNING THE PILOT PROJECT FOR NATIONAL TOURIST VACATION AREAS

    For the purpose of further expanding the opening up of our country,
developing and exploiting our country's rich tourist resources, promoting the
transformation of the sightseeing industry into a sightseeing and vacationing
industry in our country, and expediting the development of tourism, the State
Council has decided to launch a pilot project for national tourist vacation
areas in the places where the conditions are ripe, in which enterprises and/or
individuals from abroad and/or Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (hereinafter
referred to as the foreign investors) are encouraged to invest in the
development of tourist facilities and tourist businesses. A circular is hereby
promulgated as follows:

    1. National tourist vacation areas refer to comprehensive tourist areas
established in conformity with international requirements for vacation tours
and mainly open to overseas tourists. The areas shall be bounded clearly and
shall be located in the places which are suitable for concentrating complete
sets of tourist facilities, abundant with tourist vacation resources and
source of tourists, convenient for communications and have relatively firm
foundations of foreign relations.

    2. The State encourages the development of tourism and treats it as a key
industry for earning foreign exchange. National tourist vacation areas shall
be granted the following preferential policies:

    (1) The income tax on the enterprises with foreign investment established
within the areas shall be levied at a reduced rate of twenty-four percent.
Among them, enterprises with foreign investment of a productive nature
scheduled to operate for a period of not less than ten years shall, from the
first year of beginning to make a profit, be exempted from income tax in the
first and second years and allowed a fifty percent reduction in the third to
fifth years.

    (2) Building materials, production and management equipment,
transportation equipment and office supplies imported for enterprise use and
included in the total amount of investment by enterprises with foreign
investment established within the areas, as well as settling-in articles and
transportation equipment imported in reasonable quantities by foreign
investors or technicians or other personnel residing in the areas, shall be
exempted from customs duties and consolidated industrial and commercial taxes.
Raw materials, spare parts, components, fittings, auxiliary materials and
packaging materials imported for the production of tourist export goods shall
be treated as bonded goods by Customs.

    (3) Machinery, equipment and other materials for capital construction
required by the construction of infrastructure within vacation areas shall be
exempted from customs duties and product taxes (or value-added taxes).

    (4) Foreign exchange payment shops may be established within the areas.
The examination and approval of these shops shall be handled according to the
relevant State provisions.

    (5) Tourist automobile companies with Chinese-made automobiles and in
co-operation with foreign investors may be established within the areas.
Chinese-made automobiles purchased by the companies within a verified quantity
shall be exempted from the horizontal supporting fees, surcharges for
purchases of motor vehicles and extra consumption taxes. Tourist automobile
companies established by domestic enterprises within the areas may be treated
in reference with the above-mentioned policies. Such automobiles shall be used
only by tourist automobile companies established within the areas, and shall
not be transferred to others for sale. These policies shall be put into effect
by the State Planning Commission in consultation with other relevant
departments.

    (6) Tourist agencies of Category 1 in co-operation with foreign investors
may be established within the areas for overseas tourist services. The
National Tourism Administration shall be in charge of the examination and
administration of the tourist agencies.

    (7) The development of land for the construction within the areas shall be
handled according to the Interim Regulations of the People's Republic of China
Concerning the Assignment and Transfer of the Right to Use of State-Owned Land
in the Urban Areas. Fees for the assignment of land use rights shall, within
five years from the approval date of the establishment of the areas, be
reserved within the areas for the construction of infrastructure.

    (8) Tourist foreign exchange earnings derived from the areas shall, within
five years from the approval date of the establishment of the areas, be
reserved in full as foreign exchange quotas for the sustained development of
the areas.

    3. Projects for tourist facilities built with foreign investment within
national tourist vacation areas shall, if the amount of investment falls
within the limit of powers for approval laid down by the State Council, be
examined and decided by the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities
directly under the Central Government, and cities separately listed under the
national plan; those of projects for tourist lodging facilities shall be
submitted to the National Tourism Administration, the State Planning
Commission and the Ministry of Economic Relations and Foreign Trade for the
record. If the amount of investment exceeds the limit of powers for approval
laid down by the State Council, the projects shall be decided according to the
relevant State provisions. For enterprises established for projects of tourist
lodging facilities built with foreign investment, their term of operation
shall not exceed thirty years in principle.

    4. The pilot project for national tourist vacation areas shall be
submitted by local people's governments to the State Council for examination
and approval.

    5. The pilot project for national tourist vacation areas is an important
arrangement in order to deepen the reform, expand the opening of the tourist
industry, change the structure of tourist products in our country, upgrade the
tourist products and improve their competitive power in the international
market. Departments concerned under the State Council and local governments
concerned shall make proper planning in real earnest and do a good job for
this pilot project. It's inadvisable to establish too large-scale national
tourist vacation areas in the opening stages. They should gradually develop
from small to large.