Hometown of stars 遇見寧夏，星光燦爛

劉紅

Stargazing tourism is shining bright in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as the inland region has been trying to rebrand itself as the “hometown of stars” since 2000. “Ningxia has many places where you can film or photograph starry skies， and the transportation is convenient，” says Dong， 23， a native of Ningxia who has been named Astronomy Photographer of the Year by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

Dry with rare rainfall， Ningxia enjoys around 300 sunny and fine days per year and low levels of light pollution. Convenient transportation and abundant landscapes featuring mountains and deserts add to its growing reputation as a star observation site.

“Starry skies can add bright colors to the traditional tourism resources in northwestern areas. Currently， Ningxia is exploring tourism products and service standards involving deserts and astronomy， and the construction of several star observation camps is going on，” says Liu Jun， head of the regional department of culture and tourism.

With the development of Chinas astronomy education and the space industry， there has been a growing interest in stargazing among Chinese people. Statistics show that more than 30，000 astronomy lovers and photographers rush to Ningxia every year.

Art designer Xu Bo gave up his job in Shanghai and returned to his hometown， where he set up a company devoted to stargazing tourism projects. “Stargazing tourism is not just about taking a trip，” Xu says. “We livestreamed major astronomical phenomena and published popular science articles to enable more people to get to know Ningxia through its starry skies.”

China has a strong foundation in astronomy and the most advanced communication technologies. Xu hopes to make Ningxia an ideal place for stargazers and astronomy lovers at home and abroad.