BEIJING: China is encouraging its southern island of Hainan to develop horse racing and introduce a raft of reforms as Beijing pushes the tropical tourism destination as a beacon of openness. CNC correspondent Liliana Worth travels to Haikou, where she walks us through the history of Hainan. Hainan has not proven an international draw so far, attracting fewer than a million foreign visitors in 2016. We will "build Hainan into an important open door for China onto the Pacific and Indian oceans", the plan says. The province has not proven an international draw so far, attracting fewer than a million foreign visitors in 2016 -- compared with over 7 million in Phuket, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

Source: Bangkok Post April 16, 2018 08:37 UTC