Residents of one of
China's richest villages have been
encouraged to spend at a loss-making
local five-star hotel in Jiangyin,
Jiangsu province.
Longxi International
Hotel, which is located in Huaxi
village, is noted for its luxury
finishes, such as a sculpture of
a bull in its lobby made of 1
metric ton of gold.
The
hotel and cost 3 billion yuan ($485
million) to build - and that figure
is taking its toll.
According
to deputy general manager Dai Liming,
the hotel can barely make ends
meet even though it posted revenue
of 150 million yuan in 2012 on the
back of more than 2 million tourist
visits to the village that
year.
To solve the problem,
the Huaxi government - which has a
stake in the hotel - has given
residents discount coupons that can
only be used in the village,
including its shopping centers and the
hotel.
Many villagers choose to
live in the hotel for as long
as a month, according to
Dai.
Wu Xie'en, chief of
the village, said that Huaxi is
going through an industrial upgrade
and that any deficit in its
traditional industries, such as tourism
and hotels, should be accepted as
a normal phenomenon.
（Editor：GaoYinan、Chen
Lidan）
