Feature: Colourful folk customs welcome tourists to Gansu Tibetan-inhabited area 

NyimaTso, a young Tibetan woman, has closed the doors on her business in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, to return to her hometown of Luchu County in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

In Luchu she readies her youth hostel, which has been closed over the winter season, to open its doors once again.

Although it is not open yet, over the past few days she has received many reservations for her hostel through WeChat and other online platforms, filling several pages already.

"From May to October is the Tibetan tourism boom season, this year in particular we are expecting many tourists." NyimaTso told reporters that her business makes so much money during these few months that she can afford to close for winter and travel.

To improve the understanding of inland tourists about tourism in Gannan, members of the Gannan Tourism Bureau have been travelling since spring to many inland cities including Nanjing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, and Chongqing to increase awareness of their tourism brand “Nine-colour Gannan Shambhala”, and to sign several cooperation agreements.

On April 29, Cao Shiqing, head of Gannan Tourism Bureau, stated that the prefecture has 18 national level scenic spots, the largest number and highest concentration in Gansu Province. At the same time, 90 percent of these scenic spots are free to enter or charge only a small fee, such as the ticket price of the Labrang Monastery dubbed as the "Vatican of the Oriental" is only 43 yuan (6.9 US dollars).

"Starting from late April, the number of tourists soared", Cao Shiqing said.

This year the tourism infrastructure has been greatly improved in Gannan. To help tourists to travel more wisely in the area, 23 mobile internet terminals have been set up near the scenic spots, providing tour information, he added.

NyimaTso believes that the grasslands in the summer, characterised by "blue skies, green grass, few people, wild flowers, and flocks of sheep herded by simple nomads" is the reason why so many tourists yearn to visit Gannan.

According to many travel agencies in Lanzhou, the May Day Holiday was a particularly popular time to sign up for tours. One of the most popular tours included a walk of "stone town" Drakarna, a tour of the Labrang Monastery, and a visit to the mysterious Ganden Shadrup Padkar Drowa Ling.

According to the Gannan Tourism Bureau, the Gannan Tibetan area is scheduled to host several events such as the Shambhala Tourism Festival, Luchu Horse Racing Festival, and Luchu Gorchom Circle Dance Contest in a bid to showcase the rich and colourful local folk culture.