An Italian exchange

China and Italy will join hands to launch more than 100 programs during their bilateral culture and tourism year of 2020.

The programs will cover performances and visual art, cultural heritage, tourism and creative design. It'll kick off in Rome on Tuesday and conclude in Beijing by the end of this year.

Top Chinese artists and symphony orchestras will give performances in Italy, and a China-Italy world heritage photography exhibition will be held to mark the opening of the culture and tourism year.

An important part of the yearlong program, the China-Italy tourism forum, will be held on Tuesday. More than 400 high-level government officials, international tourism organizations, educational institutions and think tanks will discuss tourism cooperation and management.

The Palace Museum and the National Museum of China will host exhibitions from Italy, while Chinese Terracotta Warriors will march to Italy.

Other highlights include a Chinese paper-art exhibition at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in the historical center of Naples, which will run until the middle of February, and a China pavilion at the Venice architecture biennale between May and November.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The yearlong event was jointly announced by President Xi Jinping and Italian President Sergio Mattarella during Xi's visit to Italy in March 2019.

The culture and tourism year aims to boost bilateral cultural exchanges, cooperation and people-to-people relations, paving the way for the further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy, says Zheng Hao, a senior official of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China.

The two countries have made important strides in cultural exchanges and cooperation over the years, including long-term exhibitions at each other's national museums and the twinning of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

"It all reflects the high-level and groundbreaking cultural cooperation between China and Italy," Zheng says, adding that it has injected impetus into the development of bilateral relations.

The two countries both abound in profound cultural heritage and tourism resources, including 55 UNESCO World Heritage sites each.

Now, several sites in both China and Italy are discussing the potential for making films and hosting exhibitions.

The twinning of World Heritage sites on both sides will be a main attraction, because it will mean more tourists and will boost cultural tourism, says Luca Ferrari, Italian ambassador to China.

There will also be a series of Italian concerts and exhibitions in China, he adds.

Ferrari believes there are many fields where China and Italy can work together.

"From the cultural point of view, I think there's an enormous amount of space in modern and contemporary art," Ferrari says.

He believes the new cooperation will be among talented young Chinese and Italian artists.

Ferrari says a lot can be done to increase bilateral tourism in both countries.

Italy has increased its capacity for issuing visas, flights and providing attractions for Chinese.

In 2019, the number of visas granted to Chinese tourists increased by 20 percent, and the country received more than 3 million Chinese travelers.

"Italy has become, as of the end of 2019, the No 1 tourist attraction in Europe to Chinese tourists," Ferrari says, adding that Chinese love Italy for its art and culture, friendly people and culinary delights.

The two countries' aviation bodies have also agreed to increase the number of weekly flights between China and Italy from 56 to 164, connecting China with more relatively smaller cities, including Venice, Bologna and Pisa, in addition to Milan and Rome.

Italy is working on attracting Chinese visitors outside the normal tourism seasons and to areas beyond the major art cities.

"We have a lot of resorts, and we have the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. There are plenty of attractions for Chinese tourism," Ferrari says.

The head of the China Tourism Academy, Dai Bin, believes the two countries have a lot to share and learn from each other.

"China and Italy are both ancient civilizations with the highest volume of the world's cultural heritage sites," Dai says.

"Italy has a lot to teach other countries in the field of cultural-heritage protection, inheritance and use."

China can draw on Italy's experience to protect its cultural heritage, such as the Palace Museum, the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, while better integrating culture and tourism, Dai says.

At the same time, China has successful experience in fast tourism development to share.

The country's digital and smart-tourism development, featuring big data, mobile internet and well-known online travel-service providers, such as Ctrip and Mafengwo, has drastically changed travelers' habits and consumption, Dai says.