URUMQI, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been expanding the use of clean energy in the tourism industry to retain its unique magnificent scenery.

Tianchi Lake, known as Heavenly Lake, is a national 5A tourist attraction. As winter vacation is coming closer, staff of the management committee of the scenic area are stepping up preparations for the 18th Ice and Snow Festival.

The Tianchi Lake scenic area is the first in the region to fully use gas and electricity to replace coal in transportation, accommodation and catering. Now more than 95 percent of facilities in the area are using clean energy, which has helped reduce over 4,000 tonnes of coal consumption since the clean energy program began.

Tursun, a ceramist in southern Xinjiang's Kashgar, has abandoned traditional wood-burning kilns by turning to electric kilns.

"It used to cost me around 350 yuan (about 50 U.S. dollars) to burn a kiln of pottery with wood charcoal. Back then, not only the success rate was much lower (due to difficulties to control the temperature), the room was also left with suffocating soot," said Tursun.

Now, using an electric kiln only costs around 70 yuan, and the success rate can be as high as 90 percent. "It's cleaner and more convenient," said the pottery master.

Besides Tursun, more craftsmen, including blacksmiths, coppersmiths and carpenters in Kashgar have embraced clean energy to inherit their traditional skills in a greener way.

The Urumqi naan industrial and cultural park is a rising star in Xinjiang tourism. It showcases the history and cooking process of naan, a type of leavened flatbread and a staple food for people of ethnic groups in the region.

Traditionally, naan stoves were fueled by charcoal. But now, naan makers in the park mainly power their stoves with electricity. An approximate 60 million kWh of electricity is generated to substitute the energy provided by burning charcoal in the park each year, according to the State Grid's Urumqi power supply company. Now eight naan producers in the park can bake up to 500,000 naan a day.

The green efforts are part of the region's move to protect the local environment while further promoting its tourism industry.

Xinjiang boasts rich natural resources and marvelous landscapes, making tourism one of the fastest-growing industries in the region. In the first 10 months of 2019, Xinjiang receives 200 million tourists, up 42.62 percent year on year, a new record high.