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(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) An Arabian lifestyle portraying Muslim Chinese choosing to start their daily business in Hangzhou, and several relics linking China to the Arab world are featured in the tourism promotion of Hangzhou, the first ever Chinese city to aggressively promote tourism in the UAE and in the Middle East.
In a media briefing, Li Hong, Director of Hangzhou Tourism Commission, urged Arab tourists to come to Hangzhou and see for themselves the Phoenix Mosque, one of four ancient Islamic mosques in China built during the Tang Dynasty between 618 and 907 A.D., more than 700 Lanzhou hand-extended noodle shops selling halal traditional Muslim food and qualified Hangzhou cuisine, and the tomb of Bhatia, the Arabian scholar and doctor, who came to the capital of ancient China, Lin-an (now known as Hangzhou) in Southern Song Dynasty, fell in love with the city and settled there spreading Islam in the area dating back to as far as 800 years ago.
Li Hong also discussed nine other themes in the promotion of Hangzhou as the Oriental Capital of Leisure, a time-honoured cultural city famed for its tea, particularly green tea, silk and beautiful and lush scenery.
These themes are anchored on the selling points of Hangzhou's West Lake and its Long Bridge, which carries a legend similar to the Arabian Qays and Lubna, XiXi Wetlands popularly called China's first national wetland, the Grand Canal that extends almost 1,200 miles (1,800km), Hangzhou as one of the best tea-producing regions in China, the Chinese silk culture, the traditional Chinese medicine, which is produced in Hangzhou, high class sports in Qiantang River, Fuchun River, Xinían River and Thousand-Islet Lake, MICE industry and tourism investments which has earned for the city several prestigious tourism awards, and the accessibility of Hangzhou through direct flights from Dubai by Emirates Airline.
The tourism official said that their participation in the Arabian Travel Market 2008 demonstrated their commitment to a long friendly relation with the UAE, especially Dubai.
Just last month, he said, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed visited China during which both countries agreed to enhance their bilateral relations on trade exchange, education, tourism and many other sectors.
He said that both Dubai and Hangzhou enjoy the same prestige with Dubai as the prime capital of the Middle East and Hangzhou as the paradise of China.
"The efforts to promote Hangzhou tourism in the UAE and the Middle East have given impetus to the Chinese government's other sectors, including transportation, hospitality, and communication," he said.
He hoped that this tourism promotion would benefit both Dubai and Hangzhou in terms of mutual understanding, economic gain and world peace.
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