Medieval city of mystery proves a top draw for Chinese tourists

The East European country of the Czech Republic has gradually become a tourism hot spot for Chinese travelers thanks to its cultural heritage, castles, hot springs and beer.

Probably every Chinese born in the 1980s and 90s known the song The Prague Square by the Taiwan singer Jolin Tsai. Its lyrics "in the hallow hallway of Prague Square with no man in sight, I, alone, dance and spin" describe a beautiful foreign city far away with mysterious melancholic loneliness.

"The light leaking on the keyboards, through the color-painted glass. In the Gothic church, who's playing a sad song on the homeless journey?" The song paints a perception in the mind of a generation - the old medieval town, Gothic churches, Charles Bridge lined with statues of saints ...

The mysterious city in the song that seemed to be out of reach a decade ago has become a popular destination for Chinese tourists.

With about 10 direct flights linking Chinese cities to Prague every week, the number of tourists visiting the Czech Republic has seen steady growth.

Czech Tourism, the country's tourism bureau report, found in the first half of 2019 that more than 250,000 visitors had arrived. In July, over 10,000 visa applications were made from China, up 20 percent year-on-year.

A spokesperson from China Eastern Airlines said: "Every year a considerable number of tourists fly to Prague. Therefore, China Eastern Airlines launched a direct route between Xi'an and Prague, which takes only 10 hours."

Lukas Pokorny, head of Czech Tourism's Beijing office, said that in 2017, 489,000 Chinese tourists visited the Czech Republic at an average 2.5 nights of stay. From January to September of 2018, more than 480,000 visitors from China went at an average 2.4 nights of stay.

Despite the rise in total visitors, Chinese have reduced their length of stay in Czech.

Pokorny said the bureau will promote tours and tempt tourists to spend more time there.

The bureau has designed various routes to meet different tourists' needs. It targets those who have never been to Czech before, the younger generation and families.

"Czech was a country of splendid landscape and rich cultural and natural heritage," said Pokorny.

The country is home to more than: 20 natural reserves, 30 hot spring towns and 200 castles.

Apart from the Prague Square and the hot spring experience, one of the most established tours is to visit Pizen.

The city's population is less than 550,000 and it is known for its automobile industry and beer brewery.

During a tourism promotion in Chongqing this June, Pokorny said the tour was recommended.

He suggested tourists try a unique experience that combined two of Czech's specialties: the beer and the hot spring.

In it, one can soothe their skin in hot water mixed with beer and, of course, enjoy a fresh pint.

renxiaojin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/08/2019 page6)