Beautiful scenery of Sichuan shown in Vienna
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Karlheinz Kopf, the second president of the National Council of Austria, meets the Chinese delegation. [Sichuan Tourism Administration] |
"Sichuan, more than pandas," a promotion event on Sichuan tourism was held in the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, or "Vienna Zoo,” a zoo located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria.
It's part of the large-scale tourism promotion activity --"Travel the Southern Silk Road, Visit the Homeland of Pandas -- European Panda Fans Travel to Sichuan" -- launched by the Sichuan Tourism Bureau in November 2014.
Before the event was officially launched, a short film about the lives of two pandas, Fulong and Fuhu, was shown to the public. These two pandas were born in the Vienna Zoo and now back to Sichuan, living in the Bifeng Valley, Ya’an.
The Director of the Zoo Dr. Schratter expressed her love for pandas in her speech. She missed the pair of pandas so much and hoped she could see them in person in Sichuan.
In the promotion event, Wang Qizhang, the deputy secretary-general of Sichuan Province, introduced the unique tourism resources of the province to the Austrian friends. Films on Sichuan’s beautiful scenery and the home to pandas were also shown to the audience.
Karlheinz Kopf, the second president of the National Council of Austria, said that the idea and activities of the event were great. It helped activate the vitality of the old Silk Road and boost China’s cultural and tourism industries.
Chinese Ambassador to Austria Zhao Bin also spoke highly of the event, and he hoped to see more events to further boost the trade and cultural exchanges between China and European countries.
A total of 12 panda fans selected from six European countries, including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Austria, together with famous cultural celebrities and reporters from home and abroad, will participate in the two-month self-drive trip which kicked off on June 11.
The self-drive team, which consists of 40 members, will cover about 21,000 kilometers across 14 countries along the Southern Silk Road before arriving in Chengdu in August.
On their way to Sichuan, a full range of activities will be held, including a full array of tourism promotion activities and panda-themed cultural exchange activities.
