In what is described as "perhaps the world's greatest museum of art and design," the Victoria & Albert Museum, the first tourist group from China kicked off their6-day visit to Britain.

Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, chairperson of VisitBritain said at a breakfast welcoming ceremony that he hopes that the visitors may serve as "true ambassadors" for Britain in the emerging market of China.

"The emerging Chinese market is extremely important for Britain," Marshall said, adding with fierce competition for Chinese visitors from destinations around the world, the week-long visit is a great opportunity for Britain to "truly shine as a world-class destination.

The 80-strong Chinese group, with the youngest member at 8 and the oldest at 71, are to tour the city of London, the Oxford, stadiums in Liverpool and Manchester, where the football clubs are household names in China.

The first Chinese tourist group are to receive VIP welcome in their 6-day stay in the country merely days after the second wave of terrorist attacks on London.

The British authorities expect to receive 200,000 visitors from China, a goal that Wang Zhifa, vice chairman of China's National Tourism Administration, said would be reached in two or three years.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2005)