Chinese tourists pursue cool summer escapes amid sweltering heat

Chinese tourists are retreating to cooler summer destinations, away from the sweltering heatwave that has gripped large parts of the country.

Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County in northwest China's Qinghai Province, nestled at an altitude of over 2,800 meters, offers a refreshing escape, attracting numerous tourists to seek respite from the baking temperatures.

One of the county's top attractions is the Bianmagou Flower Sea, surrounded by lush forests and mountains.

In a bid to enhance the region's allure, the local government has ingeniously intertwined tourism and agriculture by planting scenic tree species such as the Qinghai spruce and crabapple, while introducing a variety of high-altitude flowers including lupines, gazanias, and irises. Now, the blooming season has extended from June to mid-October, making it an idyllic summer sanctuary.

Apart from the unique plateau scenery, the county is also rich in folk customs, as 26 ethnic groups reside here. It is also the birthplace of Qinghai's intangible cultural heritage, the Hua'er grassroot folk song, which is popular in the northwestern parts of China.

Visitors can delve into paper-cutting, drawing, and the thousand-year-old Qinghai embroidery.

Tongzi, a county in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has seen tourists flocking there to enjoy the cool summer breeze. The average summer temperature there is about 25 degrees Celsius, due to its altitude -- approximately 1,100 meters above the sea level.

Making a good use of the tranquil environs, a local community Loushan has 174 homestays.

"This is the eighth year that I have been spending summer here. It's cool here, and life is good. Rooms are clean as well," said Li Yun, a tourist.

Anlu, a city in central China's Hubei Province, draws in a crowd of diners to its night market, with a sizzling array of barbecue delights.

"The atmosphere at night is great here. Sitting in the open air, and having some barbecue and drinks is quite good," said a visitor.

In recent years, with the expanding night market economy, the "Anlu barbecue" became a new urban trend. The number of barbecue establishments in the city has surged from a few dozen to over 200, offering a wide array of over 100 barbecue options for food enthusiasts.

Chinese tourists pursue cool summer escapes amid sweltering heat

The China-Africa Industrial Cooperation Conference was held in Beijing on Saturday, drawing over 500 attendees, including Chinese and African business leaders and diplomats.

Themed "Sharing Development Opportunities of Modernization", the event sought to foster collaboration between China and Africa across various sectors following the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, which concluded on Friday.

"Certainly, we expect a lot more cooperation, particularly in the areas of energy. We have a serious challenge in terms of energy in my country Zambia following the effects of climate change and the droughts. The electricity generation capacity has been wiped out, so we need to diversify our energy sources with the expansion in solar and wind," said Ivan Zyuulu, Zambian Ambassador to China.

Abubakar Hassan Abubakar, assistant minister at Kenya’s Ministry of Trade, Investments and Industry, emphasized the importance of China's vast market to Kenyan producers who would benefit from strengthening trade ties between China and Kenya.

"Of course, we are expecting more cooperation because, as I had said, China is the largest trading partner in Kenya and now, we want to position ourselves for Kenya to be the largest investment partner. We want them to invest in and produce either agricultural or industrial products and serve the rest of the world, but also serve China itself because you can see that President Xi Jinping is opening up this market, and we want to take advantage of that market," he said.

The Alliance of Chinese Business in Africa for Social Responsibilities (ACBASR) published a new Blue Book at the conference about the "One Hundred Enterprises and One Thousand Villages" initiative, estimated to have benefited 10,000 people in Africa by supporting work to protect the rights and interests of women and children and promote environmental sustainability and community development.

China-Africa Industrial Cooperation Conference held in Beijing