Discover China kicks off in Beijing

The launching ceremony of the "2023 Discover China Cultural Tour" kicked off on Tuesday in Beijing.

Hu Heping, minister of culture and tourism, attended the event with 73 diplomats and envoys from 49 countries.

Hu said in his speech that the ministry sincerely hopes to join hands with their international counterparts to advance cultural growth and boost inter-civilization mutual learning through collaborative efforts in response to challenges, opportunities through opening-up and seeking shared prosperity with a win-win approach.

"We should foster comprehensive dialogues at all levels by using stronger mechanisms and more extensive platforms, and continue to build mutual understanding through flagship cultural events such as Discover China," he said.

"We should strengthen our exchanges and cooperation in the cultural and tourism market, products, information and service standards, and pool our wisdom to boost global tourism and creative economy."

The tour routes of "2023 Discover China Cultural Tour" were unveiled at the ceremony, integrated with different fields such as technology and economy. Foreign diplomats and envoys will experience Chinese culture and history via their later trips to eight provinces and regions in China, such as Guangxi, Xinjiang, Gansu and Henan.

Farhod Arziev, ambassador of Uzbekistan to China, said that China and Central Asian countries share in common culture, history and traditions, and he could see such similarities via the trips.

Since the ministry launched the event in 2021, over 140 diplomats and envoys from 68 countries have participated in the trips to explore China's nature, heritage, folklore and modern development.