Dujiangyan's outreach spans far and wide

Excursions to Europe and seven promotion stations in different countries and regions have city officials hoping for more tourism and business

Dujiangyan's connections to the world are increasing as its governmental delegation works to capitalize on recent visits to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain for exchanges and investment promotion.

The delegation, led by the Mayor He Weikai, signed memoranda of understanding with County Donegal in Northwest Ireland and Toledo in Central Spain to set up friendly and cooperative relations. The official declarations increased the number of Dujiangyan's international friendship cities to 22.

He's delegation also met with Lawrence Williams, vice-mayor of Bournemouth, England, during their visit to the United Kingdom. Bournemouth and Dujiangyan, a county-level city under the administration of Chengdu, in Southwest China's Sichuan province, are both UNESCO World Heritage cities.

The Chinese mayor said the meeting was a good gesture to kick off communication between the two cities, and hoped that universities in Bournemouth could collaborate with Chengdu Neusoft University in information technologies and animation production. Bournemouth has world-class cultural, creative and IT industries.

Williams said Dujiangyan is a beautiful city and has many resources that compare to Bournemouth's. He planned to repay a visit and sign a friendship agreement with the Chinese city for future cooperation in tourism, culture, education, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dujiangyan has always maintained an inclusive, open and cooperative attitude to form official friendship with other cities around the world, said the mayor He. It conducted a giant panda-themed ceremony with Pairi Daiza, a privately owned zoo and botanical garden located in Brugelette in the province of Hainaut, Belgium, and hosted outdoor recreation events in Monthey, a beautiful city in Switzerland.

The city also takes full advantage of its diverse resources to enhance its international cultural influence. It's one of just a few cities in the world that have three different World Heritage sites.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, together with nearby Mount Qingcheng, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site in 2000. Qingcheng is one of the cradles of Taoism, known as a famed Taoist Mountain in China.

In 2006, Dujiangyan was listed as a World Natural Heritage site as a corridor region of the giant panda habitat.

In 2018, the irrigation system was recognized as World Heritage Irrigation Structure by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage. The 2,000-year-old water engineering project impressed Clement Mouamba, prime minister of the Republic of Congo, during his visit to Dujiangyan in 2018. Mouamba said the irrigation system has embodied the talent and wisdom of the Chinese people.

Blessed with a favorable environment and rich natural resources, the city is striving to build itself into a world-renowned ecological tourist destination.

It set ambitious goals for the coming three years. By the end of this year, Dujiangyan hopes to receive 26 million visits and generate more than 29 billion yuan ($4.33 billion) of tourist income. These two figures are expected to reach 27 million and 35 billion yuan in 2020, and 30 million and 45 billion yuan in 2021.

Local officials of culture, sports and tourism said Dujiangyan will study business and development concepts from world-class tourist destinations and consumption cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo and London, to help achieve its goals.

In addition to attracting tourism, the city has also implemented a strategy for overseas expansion. It has set up seven promotion stations, in countries and regions such as Canada, Indonesia, Germany, Cambodia, Thailand and Finland, to develop more opportunities to do business with them, while also helping the world to better understand what Dujiangyan has to offer.

The city has dispatched doctors to the University Hospital of Leipzig in Germany for training, and exchanged students with schools in Japan, Thailand and Germany.

Dujiangyan has been a member of five international organizations, including the League of Historical Cities, World Historic and Cultural Canal Cities Cooperation Organization and the Organization of World Heritage Cities.

Contact the writer at

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/25/2019 page24)