Cross-Strait exchange event held to promote tourism

TAIPEI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A cross-Strait cultural and travel exchange event kicked off on the mainland and in Taiwan on Monday, introducing tourist attractions in Qinghai Province to people in Taiwan.

Among the attractions discussed was Sanjiangyuan, or the Three-River-Source, home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers.

Opening ceremonies were held simultaneously via video link in Xining, capital city of Qinghai Province on the mainland, and in Taipei. Approximately 150 individuals from cultural, tourism and art circles on both sides of the Straits attended the ceremony.

The event was co-organized by the Chinese Culture Friendship Association (CCFA), the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, and the Qinghai provincial government. It was the largest cross-Straits exchange activity in the cultural and tourism fields to be held offline since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the parallel session in Taipei, Christopher Hsu from a local travel association shared his experience of traveling to Qinghai, which he has visited 16 times. "The cross-Straits tourism exchange has met many setbacks over the past two years of COVID-19, but I believe that after the pandemic, both sides of the Straits will have a stronger will to deepen their cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation."

The event is part of a cross-Straits cultural exchange program established by the CCFA in 2001. Focusing on different tourism destinations each year, it has attracted more than 1,000 participants from cultural and art sectors in Taiwan.