Shenxianju, a national 5A scenic spot in Xianju county, Taizhou. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfb001]

Taizhou in East China's Zhejiang province will issue coupons worth 5 million yuan ($769,230) to revive and boost the cultural and tourism market, both of which have been severely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.

The first tranche of coupons valued at 2 million yuan is slated to be released on a mini-program on social media platform WeChat on May 18, and can be used in the city's hotels, homestays, A-level scenic spots and restaurants.

In addition, the city has rolled out a raft of measures to prop up the cultural and tourism sectors. One of them is the temporary refund of deposits for tourism service quality to local travel agencies. To date, nearly 20-million-yuan worth of deposits for tourism service quality have been refunded to 179 travel agencies in Taizhou.

Prior to the end of this month, the local government will redeem subsidies and rewards it had promised to enterprises in the sectors. For example, it will distribute prizes worth 3.6 million yuan to the 12 3A scenic villages in the city.