To attain this goal, the key task is to accelerate the capital construction, to intensify eco-environmental protection and construction, consolidate the key position of agriculture in China's national economy, readjust industrial structure, develop special tourism, and develop undertakings of science, education, culture and medical care. By the mid21st century, the western region should be developed into an area with a thriving economy, where an advanced society will be set up and stable living conditions for the people will be guaranteed.

To carry out an overall development of West China, we have to greatly develop tourism." Tourism industry, that serves as a guide to eco-social development and opening to the outside world, and plays an interactive role in national economy, is the best choice to carry out the balanced development of resources and social economy of the western region. It. in turn, will inject vitality into all other industries of the region, serving as a pillar industry and a factor of !opal economic growth. Tibetan Autonomous Region has specified that tourism is the pillar industry of Tibet, and its goal is to develop the region into a major ecotourism region. Qinghai has made it clear that tourism industry is the characteristic industry of the province, planning to develop the province into a major ecological province in the plateau region. Xinjiang has declared that tourism industry is the advantageous industry of the region, planning to build the region into a strategic reserve base for the overall development of China's tourism industry in the 21st century. Tourism industry will be a promising "sunrise industry" of western China.

In the development, it is required to bring forth new ideas in the following six aspects: for developing resources and product of tourism, for tourism infrastructure constructions and facilities, for development of tourism market and marketing, for tourism supporting service system, for tourism industrial management, and for buildup and protection of tourism environment.

In the all round development, first of all, the programs of the eco-tourism, special tours and characteristic tours should be greatly developed on the basis of general traveling and sightseeing so as to meet different demands of different travelers at home and abroad. The key programs on the priority development list include eco-tourism (visiting natural reserves of birds, inspecting the control of desertification, visiting forests, mountains, making adventures, and other cultural and eco-tours), and such characteristic tourism programs as mountaineering and adventure, glacier site adventure, desert adventure origin adventure, drifting on the Yellow River plateau tour and sightseeing, holiday-making on plateau, folklore tourism, visiting historical relics along the Silk Road, religious tourism, traveling on foot touring while carrying out a scientific research project and others. Efforts should be made to continue developing special tourism and tourism of specific item such as the touring route along the Silk Road, the touring route up to the "roof of the world," and the touring route along the ancient road leading from China to foreign land during the Tang period.