Belarusians embrace up-and-coming future following SCO accession

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠People from all walks of life in Belarus expressed high expectations for their country's future development following its accession in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), saying such a decision is wise and will bring abundant opportunities to Belarus.

In a major development for the SCO, Belarus was formally accepted as the 10th member state of the inter-governmental organization last Thursday.

The accession of Belarus was formalized at the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.

"The SCO currently plays an important role in international politics, international relations and international economics. Naturally, we see SCO as a great partner. This is in the case of the 3.5 billion population. This has great economic potential. These are great opportunities in trade and economic cooperation, in science, education, culture, and other areas, including safety, aimed at combating terrorism and other directions," said Yuri Senko, former ambassador of Belarus to China.

"I assessed this step by the state as being very wise and well thought out,  because in conditions of formation of a multipolar world, I think this is a very smart move aimed at improving safety and regional cooperation, which includes our fraternal Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and India. These are big markets, this is protection of interest in our state, accordingly this will affect our lives, especially the economy and security," said Yuri Matusevich, former head with the Department of Foreign Economic Relations of the Presidential Property Management Department of Belarus.

People from the cultural sector in Belarus believe that joining the SCO will facilitate and enhance cultural exchanges between Belarus and other member countries.

" I think it's a good chance for cooperation in business, in politics, in cultur," said Kseniya Gold, a model.

"SCO is quite an interesting organization. There are powerful members (such as) Kazakhstan, India and China. And we have a lot that we can take from their experience. And speaking of culture, we also have a huge, unique and interesting cultural background. So, Belarus as a part of SCO, I believe is not just a taker, it's pretty much a good giver as well," said Alexander Kovalev, a filmmaker. 

Since its inception in China's Shanghai in 2001, the SCO has so far expanded from a regional organization with six members into a trans-regional organization with 10 full members, two observer countries, and 14 dialogue partners.

Belarusians embrace up-and-coming future following SCO accession

China has seen a tourism boom in the first five days of the week-long National Day holiday, as people seize the opportunity to embrace natural and cultural attractions nationwide.

From Oct 1 to 5, Beijing received 20.5392 million tourists, including 10.8615 million tourists from other Chinese cities and 46,800 inbound tourists. Key scenic spots of the Chinese capital, including the Wangfujing Street, the Temple of Heaven Park, the Summer Palace, Nanluoguxiang, and Badaling Great Wall, were crowded with people during the holiday.

In east China's Jiangxi Province, many tourists choose to climb mountains, or walk into the countryside to feel the charm of nature. In the first five days of the National Day holiday, Sanqingshan Scenic Area, a world natural heritage site in the province's Shangrao City, received more than 600,000 tourists, an increase of 25.6 percent over last year.

"The scenery, stones and mountains are just like traditional Chinese ink paintings, with a particularly beautiful artistic conception," said Liu Hao, a tourist.

While waiting to enter the park at the foot of the mountain, tourists watched the She people's performances with rich ethnic minority style, and the children enthusiastically participated in colorful games.

"Although there are a lot of people, everyone line up in an orderly manner and there are places to sit," said Zou Wenhao, another tourist.

As of Sunday, the total number of visitors to the Mount Taishan, a UNESCO world heritage site in east China's Shandong Province, has exceeded 7 million this year. From Oct. 2 to 5, the number of tourists at the scenic spot exceeded 73,000 per day for four consecutive days, and the number reached a peak of 82,000 on Oct. 3.

Tourists can not only enjoy the beautiful scenery of Mount Taishan, but also taste various delicious food such as Taishan fried chicken and sweet and sour Yellow River carp in the nearby food street.

Chinese cities enjoy tourism boom during National Day holiday