Jiuzhaigou Valley and Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area will reopen to tour groups on Wednesday after a three-month closure due to the May 12 earthquake, the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Bureau announced Monday.

China News Service reports that the quake-hit province has started reopening some attractions in a bid to revive its tourism industry. However, Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong are only open to individual visitors at present.

An earlier Xinhua report said that 568 of more than 4,000 tourist attractions in Sichuan Province were damaged by the earthquake, with economic losses totaling 27.84 billion yuan (about 4 billion US dollars).

Tourism services in Sichuan will resume in three phases, with a full recovery expected around 2010.

(CRIENGLISH.com August 6, 2008)