Three places in East China's Shandong province were included in the first batch of national all-for-one tourism demonstration zones, according to a list released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Sept 25.

Officials said that Qingzhou, a county-level city in Weifang, Laoshan district of Qingdao and Qufu, the hometown of the great Confucius, made the list.

The concept of all-for-one tourism was first mentioned in the Government Work Report at the fifth plenary session of 12th National People's Congress.

The phrase proposed a focus on upgrading and integrating tourist resources, public services and government regulations and policies to boost overall social development by using tourism as a new engine for growth.

In recent years, Shandong has attached great importance to the development of all-for-one tourism through policy support, service upgrade and brand promoting. Officials said that this has provided a solid guarantee for the high-quality development of its tourism sector.

Many cities in the province have launched specific policies and measures to implement the tourism strategy and attract more visitors from across the world with its unique regional culture and tourism resources.

The city of Qingzhou was capital of one of the nine zhous, or province-level administrative regions in ancient China for more than 1,600 years.

The city is still home to a number of old buildings and communities that bear silent witness to the architectural achievements and styles of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The Qingzhou government has launched a series of measures to restore and preserve local historical and cultural heritage sites, which help attract millions of visitors every year.

The city has also beefed up measures to develop the nighttime economy, with steps to encourage post-dusk tourism activities and later closing hours at scenic spots.

Qingdao's Laoshan district is named after Laoshan Mountain, which is hailed as the cradle of Taoism and is a popular tourist destination in the country.

It is a coastal district, being near the Yellow Sea.

Officials said the local government has taken the "tourism +" strategy as the approach to build a holistic tourism product supply system and promote the integrated development of tourism and related industries.

Qufu, hometown of Confucius, has been built up into a leading tourism destination to worship the great sage. Study tours to the city are also quite popular for visitors, particularly students.

The city has built some high-quality cultural and tourism sites such as the Nishan Sacred Land, the Confucius Museum and the Confucius Institute. It has been promoting its tourism brands through many channels.

A sweeping view from Laoshan Mountain in Laoshan district of Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/IC]

Visitors stroll down a street in Qingzhou ancient town. [Photo/IC]

A spectacular aerial photo shows the temple, family cemetery and family mansion of Confucius in Qufu. They are collectively known as the San Kong and were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1994. [Photo/IC]