The 4th Conference of Liaison Officers of the China-CEEC Logistics Cooperation Secretariat kicked off on Friday in Yibin City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, advancing the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Themed on "Sharing New Opportunities for Industrial Development, Promoting New International Logistics Channels", the three-day conference aims to continue promoting exchanges and development between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in air logistics, China-Europe Railway Express and the facilitation of ports, and to foster cooperation between China and CEECs in the fields of power batteries, photovoltaics and new energy vehicles.
The conference is hosted by China's Ministry of Transport and the government of Sichuan Province. More than 200 attendees, including officials from relevant foreign embassies in China, guests from international organizations, entrepreneurs, and experts and scholars, participated in the conference.
"Based on this logistics cooperation conference between Central and Eastern European countries, we have established a friendly cooperative relationship with the Bratislava Airport in Slovakia. During this conference, we also signed a memorandum of cooperation within the conference framework. We hope to open a regular cargo liner route between Chengdu and the Bratislava Airport," said Xu Renji, deputy general manager, Strategic Planning Department, Sichuan Airlines Logistics Company.
Since the founding of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism in 2012, bilateral economic and trade relations have become increasingly close, with a significant increase in bilateral trade volume.
Logistics conference between China, Central and Eastern European countries held in Yibin
China's ice and snow tourism has experienced booming growth during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush which just concluded on Saturday.
Data from Tongcheng Travel, an online travel service provider, shows that hotel bookings surged by over 40 percent year on year in many popular winter tourism destinations in northern China, including Altay and Yili in northwest China's Xinjiang, Qitaihe in northeast China's Heilongjiang and Xilingol League in north China's Inner Mongolia.
The ice and snow fervor fueled by the Asian Winter Games, which were held in the "Ice City" of Harbin from February 7 to 14, has spurred economic growth and boosted tourism in the city and surrounding areas. As a result, domestic flight bookings for Harbin increased by over 20 percent year on year. Hotel bookings in the city rose by about 60 percent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the total number of inbound tourists has seen a year-on-year increase of over 144 percent.
In addition to the northern regions which are traditionally winter tourist destinations, many places in the south are also seeing growing popularity for winter activities. The search volumes of ice and snow-related consumption more than doubled in places like Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong, according to data from Tongcheng Travel.
"The number of tourists had increased about 30 percent during the Spring Festival, compared to the same period last year," said Zhou Daochun, an employee of a ski resort in Zhejiang Province.
China's railway system had taken measures to deal with the ice and snow travel boom during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush with additional trains being operated between popular winter tourism destinations.
Meanwhile, local railway systems also cooperated with transportation authorities to open special trains that could carry tourists to experience winter sports and events, achieving seamless transfer among railway stations, bus stops and ski resorts.
In response to the surge in tourists heading to have fun with ice and snow in Shangri-La of southwest China's Yunnan province, local railway authorities operated special tourist trains that stopped in popular cities within the province, including Xishuangbanna, Kunming, and Dali. The trains then continued to Lijiang, where tourists could board a high-speed train that would take them directly to Shangri-La.
Xiamen in east China's Fujian opened an ice and snow-themed train to Harbin for the first time. The local railway station also launched tailored services for certain tourists to ensure their safe and smooth travel.
"We set up a designated area for tourist groups in the railway station's waiting area and assigned special personnel to help senior tourists, providing warm and secure services to ensure their comfort and safety," said Wu Zhenbin, staff working at the Xiamen North Railway Station.
China sees booming winter tourism during Spring Festival travel rush