Naming the official opening ceremony of the second Moscow
International Trade Fair for Travel and Tourism as "China Day"
attaches a far-reaching significance to tourism cooperation between
the two countries, a top Chinese tourism official said.
"Tourism can promote understanding between peoples, regardless
of their different nationalities, complexions, languages and
background," Shao Qiwei, director of China's National Tourism
Administration, told Xinhua in an interview.
"As the first of many important events during the Year of China
in Russia, tourism opens a window for Russian citizens to know more
about China, ancient and modern," Shao said.
China has kept drawing Russian visitors in recent years.
Compared to the traditional but still attractive destinations like
Hainan province in southern China, where nearly 90,000
winter-hardened Russians visited to get sun kissed on sand beaches,
Shaolin Temple in Henan province has become one of the new and
thriving Chinese tourist destinations for Russians.
"After Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit, Russian
tourists rushed to the temple to see what it is that was so
fascinating for their president," Shao said.
Many Chinese places of interests that are relatively unknown to
Russians came to the tourism fair with their different landscapes,
such as piercing mountains in Guangxi, crystal-clear lakes in
Sichuan, and ancient imperial constructions in Henan.
Russia is more than a simple tourist destination for Chinese
visitors. Many Chinese visitors choose Russia because of their
Soviet links, Shao said.
They are eager to come close to the former Socialist great power
which they got to know from childhood, the bloodshed battlefield of
World War II and the almost holy place where Vladimir Lenin lived
and worked, etc.
They are also magnetized by historical sites like the Red Square
and the Kremlin, the characteristic Russian architecture of
different eras, and the country's world-renowned oil paintings,
Shao said.
Therefore the number of visitors between the countries has
continued to increase, Shao said, adding that last year's figure
was 3.12 million, a figure that is expected to rise to five million
in 2008 according to the trend.
However, problems do exist to hinder tourism development between
the two countries, including the inconvenience of the Russian visa
process, the inefficient customs entry, which led to a slight drop
in the number of Chinese visitors to Russia last year, Shao
said.
He expects Russia to invest in tourism in China. According to
Shao, China boasts 49 brands of high-ranking international hotels,
none of which are from Russia.
Nearly 200 festivities will take place this year in the
framework of Year of China in Russia, and together with last year's
successful Year of Russia in China, cooperation between the two
countries in fields like tourism, politics, economy, science,
culture and education are sure to boom, Shao said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2007)
