GUIYANG, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Every weekend, 31-year-old Vladimir Baskov from Moscow, Russia, packs his paragliding gear and enjoys the freedom and relaxation of gliding through the air with his friends.

For him, paragliding is a relaxing sport. "Every time I glide, I feel like a bird flying free," Baskov said.

Baskov currently lives in Hong Kong, China, where he has started his own trading company. He came to China to study at the age of 16 and has lived in the country for over 15 years.

Baskov fell in love with paragliding six years ago in Hong Kong. Over the past few years, he has not only glided in various locations across Russia and China but has also traveled to Thailand, Turkey, Italy, and many other countries and regions.

Recently, to learn advanced paragliding techniques, Baskov and his friends made a special trip from Hong Kong to Zangke Town, Liuzhi Special District, Liupanshui City in southwest China's Guizhou Province, to study at the Youyi Flying Paragliding School.

In recent years, Zangke Town has leveraged its unique natural and geographical conditions to promote tourism development through international paragliding competitions, attracting enthusiasts and professional athletes from around the world.

At the training base, 36-year-old paragliding instructor Ba Lang carefully explained the technical essentials and precautions of paragliding to Baskov.

"He is studying a relatively advanced paragliding training course 'SIV' (short for 'Simulation d'incident en vol' in French, which means simulating unstable situations in flight), which is also a necessary course for paragliding safe flight. And I gave him one-on-one English lectures. The major content includes safe flight concepts to real flight techniques, etc.," Ba explained.

"While he was doing solo training, I would observe from the ground and use the radio to teach and instruct him. After nearly a week of training, he has become more confident and more proficient in paragliding, and his completion of subjects is relatively high," Ba added.

"When I heard that Liupanshui City of Guizhou Province has a mature and systematic paragliding training course, I couldn't wait to come here. Majestic mountains surrounding beautiful rivers and lakes, these landscapes reminded me of summer Alps in Europe. The cool and mountainous geographical environment also makes it a 'paradise' for outdoor sports enthusiasts. I hope to learn more professional knowledge of paragliding and accumulate more safe flight experience here," said Baskov.

As an outdoor sports enthusiast, Baskov has a wide range of interests, including mountain biking, sailing, kite surfing, and roller skating.

In addition, as a professional alpine ski instructor, Baskov has witnessed the vigorous development of China's outdoor sports and the rapid changes in the country's economy and society.

With the deepening friendship between China and Russia and the promising business opportunities in the Chinese market, Baskov feels there is great potential.

"Since the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice and snow sports have become a trend in China. It would be great to see more Russian people visiting China to practice in outdoor activities such as paragliding or skiing," Baskov said.

"China and Russia have long history of great relationship. Russia is China's neighbor and partner. We not only share the boarder but also a lot of common values, traditions and preferences," said Baskov.

"Our bilateral trade has been increasing year-on-year. I hope to do more business in China in the future and make my own contribution to the economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia," said Baskov. Enditem

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