XI'AN,
China, May 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tender yet
powerful, culture opens up windows for Chinese and Americans to
understand each other and builds bridges between hearts.
I sat enraptured as students from Brigham
Young University sang the Chinese song "Jasmine Flower," while students from
China's Shaanxi Province performed the song
"Moon River." The former has been a
cultural symbol of China because
of Puccini's opera Turandot, while the latter is familiar to
Chinese people due to the movie Breakfast at
Tiffany's.
The two groups met at the opening of 14th China-US Tourism
Leadership Summit in Xi'an,
Shaanxi Province, a vivid example
of people-to-people exchanges between China and the US.
"I could not tell you how good it is to be back," Todd Davidson, board chair of Brand USA, a marketing organization in the US, said
in his speech at the event. He noted that even though some things
had changed in the six years since his last trip to China, "what has not changed is the warm,
welcoming hospitality of the Chinese people."
"The summit is especially full of hope and optimism for me," he
said in his speech, noting that he looks forward to "walking this
new Silk Road together with each and every one of you in the
future."
Chris Clark, chairman of Visa Asia Pacific, shared his story of
being a teacher at the Xi'an Foreign Languages Institute in 1986
and the good time he had back then.
"One of the areas that we have the greatest opportunity to really
capitalize on cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges is
in working with student groups," Davidson said.
"There is power in that. What more we can do is to grow those
exchanges - educational exchanges, cultural exchanges - which are
going to be a powerful motivator for growing the relationship
between the two countries," he added.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between China
and the US. The foundation of China-US relations is laid by people,
the door of China-US relations is opened by people, the stories of
China-US relations are written by people, and the future of
China-US relations will be jointly created by the people of the two
countries.
In September 1973, the Philadelphia
Orchestra toured China, the first
US orchestra to do so since 1949. Musicians from both countries
played the Chinese orchestral piece The Moon's Reflection on the
Second Spring, which became a cherished memory for many. Fifty
years later in 2023, the familiar melody again resonated across a
music hall with the performance of musicians from both sides, a new
chapter in the five-decade-long friendship.
Same as music, tourism is an important bridge for exchanges and
mutual understanding between the people of China and the US. US tourists are welcome to
travel in China, meet Chinese
friends, experience Chinese culture, visit beautiful landscapes and
experience the real China.
Brian Linden, who has lived in
China for years and is operating a
unique hotel in Southwest China's
Yunnan Province, told me at the
welcoming gala that he was glad to see so many representatives from
both the Chinese and US tourism industries.
"It is very a good start," he said.
After the summit, he shared on social media, "Although it has been
five years since the last summit, all of our discussions have been
related to China-US tourism and people-to-people exchanges. We all
hope that the number of tourists from China and the United
States can return to pre-pandemic levels, and this summit is
an important step in the right direction. I am inspired by the
spirit behind this summit."
When standing on the ancient city wall of Xi'an, also known as Chang'an, Rowena E Minott
was "impressed about the city and its rich culture like the Tang
Dynasty and the world-known Terracotta Warriors."
Seeing is believing. I still remember that when I got off the high
speed train from Beijing to
Xi'an, in front of me was a family
of four including two kids from Europe. One of them said, "Mummy, is here
Xi'an yet? I want to see the
Terracotta Warriors now."
See, culture always finds a way.
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SOURCE Global Times