A UNESCO World Heritage Site that was damaged by a strong earthquake in southwest China in 2017 is under full reconstruction as a new tourist center is being built to serve growing visitors.

A magnitude-7.0 earthquake jolted the Jiuzhaigou scenic area in the mountains of Sichuan Province in August 2017, killing at least 25 people and causing widespread damage to the park. The government of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture told CGTN the new tourist center's list of modern functionalities will include the ability to evacuate tourists in time of an emergency quickly. Construction will take approximately 22 months. Officials added that nearly half of the reconstruction work of the famous tourism site has been completed.

Jiuzhaigou is famous for its otherworldly beauty of waterfalls and crystal-clear lakes against the backdrop of lush mountains. The quake severely disrupted tourism there and cut down the lifeline of hundreds of thousands of local people engaged in the tourism sector.

The park was closed to tourists for seven months following the earthquake and only partially reopened to visitors last March.