Old-world charm of China’s Fujian Province
View(s):China’s Fujian Province has a few things in common with Sri Lanka. “Tea is a big deal there as well,” smiled Deputy Manager of the Xiamen Tourism Group, International Travel Service, Fish Chen.
Opening the travel promotion seminar held at the Taj Samudra this week with members of the Fujian Administration of Tourism and the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, proceedings started off with a delicate dance item. The graceful dancers in green gowns had the non-Mandarin-speaking spectators quite absorbed.
A taste of Fujian culture
The ballad that the dancers added colour to, was one about “the jasmine flower” Chen explained. Well known for their jasmine tea, circular buildings and winding lanes it is the old-world charm of the Fujian province that the team is hoping to promote to the people of Sri Lanka as an exciting travel destination.
Welcoming the visitors to Sri Lanka, Director Marketing of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Madhubani Perera shared that “Sri Lanka is doing quite well in terms of tourism.” Since 2002 when the country was declared an approved destination by the Chinese Government, she noted that there have been a significant number of tourists from China to Sri Lanka. “Just up to July 2014, we have had 67,408 visitors,” she said. Just as much interest is seen in Sri Lankans to explore China, she feels, with over 20,000 China-bound Sri Lankans each year “we hope to continue and strengthen this exchange.”
Deputy Director General of Fujian Administration of Tourism, Chen Yihui too expressed similar sentiments and hoped that the seminar would foster much more than mere tourism but also open the communication between the Fujian province and Sri Lanka.