The 5th China Health Industry Development Forum, themed with "What Can the Health Industry Do for a Healthy China", was hosted in the Chinese city of Panzhihua on January 18. At the forum that was organized by the Panzhihua Municipal People's Government, 11 health industry projects reached intentions to sign contracts amounting to a planned investment value of RMB50.68 billion.

The "Panzhihua Municipal Health Industry Standards System" and "Panzhihua Municipal Health Industry Supervision System" were formally published at the forum. Of which, the "Panzhihua Municipal Health Industry Standards System" was jointly developed by Panzhihua and the China National Institute of Standardization, and at present 99 standards have been published, which will serve as a crucial reference for the establishment of a standardized Chinese health industry system and industry institutional innovation.

Since 2014, Panzhihua has successfully held five editions of the China Health Industry Development Forum, which has not only popularized the concept of health preservation but has also effectively brought private capital to gravitate toward the health industry.

As an integral component of the "Healthy China Initiative", the health industry is a manifestation of people's yearning for a healthy and better life. Panzhihua, a city well-known for its sunshine, has emerged as one of the premier destinations in China for health- and leisure-seekers because of the unique advantages demonstrated in its health industry.

Panzhihua, located at the junction between southwestern Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan, boasts unique arid-hot valley climate of the southern subtropical zone. In addition, Panzhihua has the elevation, temperature and humidity that are all highly suitable for a restorative human habitat, an average of 2,700 annual sunshine hours, an average annual temperature of 20.3 degrees centigrade, high forest coverage, superb air quality and winters as warm as springs.

After a trip to Panzhihua in 2016, then Ambassador of Malaysia to China Zainuddin Yahya remarked that "the most impressive memory of Panzhihua is the fresh air and ample sunshine, as well as the picturesque scenery. I am going to miss this place. Panzhihua feels young and vibrant, and it is a fast-growing city".

Relying on its distinct health resources and advantages, in 2010 Panzhihua became the first in the nation to put forth the "health preservation" concept. After a decade of advancement, Panzhihua has achieved notable feats in the development of its health industry. In the first three quarters of 2020, the added value of Panzhihua's health industry registered RMB9.616 billion, accounting for 12.9% of the entire city's gross regional product.

In recent years, Panzhihua's health industry took advantage of its solid existing industrial foundation and developed new pathways, including an integrated industrial model to continuously drive the growth of the health industry, project clusters to promote the upgrade of the health industry, and optimized systems and mechanisms to reinforce the basis for future expansion of Panzhihua's health industry.

Next, Panzhihua will continue to introduce well-known enterprises both at home and abroad, stimulate consumption in the health tourism market, fuel the development of the local health industry, thereby emerging as an international health tourism destination.