Chinese provinces, municipalities jointly promote tourism in Singapore

SINGAPORE, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 11 Chinese provinces and municipalities held a joint tourism promotive event here on Tuesday to lure visitors to China.

Heilongjiang, Jilin, Anhui, Henan, Jiangxi, Shandong, Guangdong, Qinghai, Gansu Provinces as well as Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities jointly presented videos and pictures of tourist attractions to participants of the Beautiful China Tourism Promotion 2019.

Organized by the China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and hosted by the China National Tourist Office in Singapore, the event was attended by some 250 representatives from governmental officials, travel agencies and airlines.

Some 3.42 million Chinese tourists visited Singapore in 2018, registering a 6-percent year-on-year rise, said Xiao Jianghua, director of the China National Tourist Office in Singapore as well as director of the China Cultural Center in Singapore.

In the meantime, 978,000 Singaporean tourists visited China in 2018, recording a yearly climb of 4 percent, Xiao said, adding that Singapore ranks the tenth country in the number of inbound tourists to China.

Also present at the promotion ceremony were Zhang Xumin, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, Que Xiaohua, Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Singapore and Assistant Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board Jeannie Lim.

Que said in his speech that this event stands to be one of the largest Chinese tourist promotions in recent years in Singapore, which will not only help to attract more Singaporeans to visit China, but will also enhance the mutual understandings between the two peoples.

Lim encouraged the Singaporean travel agencies to take advantage of this opportunity to discover more travel destinations in China.

Chen Feng, a college student from the National University of Singapore, shared during the event her impression of China after her recent tours there. According to Chen, China is a combination of old and young. Being a country with a long-history, China also witnesses the emergence of nationwide cashless payment and outstanding academic achievements of the Chinese universities, which makes the country more attractive.

During the event, winners of "China-All Around You," a micro-video competition showcasing China, were also awarded. They were chosen from the producers of 479 works delivered by citizens from six countries including Singapore and China.

Singapore is the first stop of this Chinese tourism promotion, which will also be taken to Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.