Chinese island holiday paradise for Canadians?

A delegation led by Canadian Senator Victor Oh paid a five-day visit at the end of December to Hainan, China's southern-most island province, to discuss more cooperation opportunities between Canada and Hainan.

Invited by Hainan provincial government, the Canadian delegations traveled to three cities, the capital city Haikou, holiday paradise Sanya, Qionghai and Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County.

Named"2014 Canada-Hainan Cultural Tour", Victor Oh, the Chinese-Canadian senator from Ontario who visited Hainan in 2012, said he saw the wide complementary relationship between Canada and Hainan in the future.

Victor Oh was appointed to the Senate of Canada in January 2013, on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association, which promotes exchange of information between Canadian parliamentarians and their counterparts in China.

"Comparing to my last short visit here, this time I experienced a far more beautiful Hainan with gorgeous beaches and various cultural elements," said Oh in an interview with a local newspaper, "Hainan definitely can be an ideal tourismdestination for Canadians."

In winters many Canadians chose to escape the freezing weather to spend holiday in the warm seaside resorts such as the Caribbean region, west coast of the USA and South America.

"The Caribbean and Thailand are most favorabledestinations for Canadian tourists, but I think Hainan can match the two places on climate and landscape."

"Besides, the number of fine hotels and the quality of tourism-related services in Hainan are beyond my expectations," said Oh.

"Canada also has rich tourism resources for the tourists from Hainan who want to travel abroad in summer or experience different winter tourism activities."

There is no direct flight from Canada to Hainan. Senator Oh suggested that opening of new airlines could be the breakthrough of tapping the tourism market for both sides.

Canada and Hainan has started to establish a solid cultural communication and other cooperation programs. In June 2013, a Hainan cultural delegation group visited Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto to launch the inaugural Canada Hainan Cultural Festival and promote tourism resources in Hainan. Since knotting ties as friendship provinces between Hainan and Prince Edward Island, the two island provinces have successfully cooperated in many programs in agricultural products trade, education and tourism.

During his trip Oh also discovered new potential connections such as health care, environmental protection and cultural exchanges between Canada and Hainan.

"Hainan has a great chance to become a world-famous destination for convalescing; Canada has leading medical treatment services, thus I can see there is a complementary relationship which can boost Hainan become an international tourism island with advantaged healthcare service."

Inspired by the local ethnic minority cultural during the visit to Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Oh hoped that he could introduce Canadians the Miao and Li people, the aboriginal people whose ancestors mastered cotton spinning 3,000 years ago, and meanwhile also introduce Canada's aboriginal Indian culture to China.

wangru@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 01/09/2015 page2)