The Research On Preservation And Development Of Greater Tunhuang Districts (GTD)

Tunhuang, an international tourism center, gains its global reputation for the existence of Silk Road and Mogao Grottoes, one of the International Cultural Heritages. The city of Tunhuang is an oasis city situated in underdeveloped districts of western China, an area where Four Ancient Civilizations once intertwined and flourished. However, due to environmental degradation, the preservation of natural and cultural sightseeing spots, such as the Spring of Crescent and Mogao Grottoes, is under threat. Confronted with the conflicts between environmental preservation and economic growth, the Greater Tunhuang Districts are now taking measures to ensure regional sustainable development.Faced with current situations, this paper first makes a summarization of relevant theories and practices in following fields: the development of transitional areas, the developmental paths of oasis cities and the interrelations between Preservation of Historic and Cultural Cities and the growth of tourism. Then, the paper makes an analysis on historical and current interactive relationships between Tunhuang and neighboring regions. Based upon above works and necessity and feasibility researches, this paper puts forward suggestions on the forming of Greater Tunhuang Districts, which means putting Tunhuang and its closely-related areas, such as Guazhou, Akesai, Subei, under the administration of the authorities of this new institution to guarantee a coordinated and sustained development of this area.Furthermore, by utilizing SWOT method, this paper makes a thorough examination, from macro-economical, micro-economical and various spatial perspectives, on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges of Greater Tunhuang Districts and then puts forward effective measures and strategies to help aid the preservation of historical legacies and the economic advancement of this area.Due to its tourism resources of high quality, profound cultural background and the prominent advantages in traffic, transportation and location, the GTD has a great potential for future development. Although the environmental degradation, especially in water resources, has posed a threat to its future prosperity, effective measures, such as integrating neighboring towns and cities, re-locating main function zones and re-adjusting the industrial structures, could be taken to realize the sustainability of both natural environment and economic growth. Facing with the rapid improvement in traffic networks of western China and the sound development of tourism industry, the GTD should seize these opportunities by making best use of the advantage of tourism distributing center to develop the tourism industry and improve regional economic strength. By the construction of Grand Crossroads of Northwestern China, whose junction node is Tunhuang city, the GTD should build a new Silk Road to guide and give a push to the overall development of inland cities and regions in western China.