On the afternoon of April 15, 2015, the opening ceremony of the “2015 Cultural Exchange Activities of Presenting China to the World—Folk Performances and Cultural Show from Shangri-La” and “A Place Where Dreams Start·Shangri-La of the World—China·Shangri-La Tourism Promotion Event” was jointly held by Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World, Shangri-La Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the People’s Government of Shangri-La Municipality.
Those who attend this activity include Mr. Chang Keren, former Member of Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of Culture; Mr. Shen Xuekui, Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the General Office of the Communist Party of China, the former Deputy Director of CPC Central Guard Bureau as well as the Director of the Political Department of CPC Central Guard Bureau; Mr. Li Qingyu, former Director-General of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Foreign Ministry; Mr. Liu Qinglang, Deputy Director of Art Development Center of Ministry of Culture; Ms. Lucy Cui, Secretary General of Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World; Bai Yongming, Director of People's Government Liaison Office of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Beijing; Mr. Xiao Xu, Mayor of People’s Government of Shangri-La County; Wang Guozhong, Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Shangri-La County, Lu Zhijun, the Director of the Propaganda Department of Shangri-La County Party Committee and other leaders.
The diplomatic envoys who attend this activity include twenty ambassadors to China from Cuba, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Bolivia, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Serbia, Jamaica, Zambia, Rwanda, Chile, Montenegro, Peru, Maldives, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Trinidad and Tobago, Syria and other almost eighty senior diplomats to China from the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia etc.
A number of travel agencies of 5A standards attended this meeting, including China Comfort Travel Group, CITIC International Travel Agency, Spring and Autumn International Travel Agency, China Women Travel Service, Beijing Huayuan International Travel Group; And almost 40 domestic and foreign Mainstream media presented at the meeting, including People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Tourism News, China Daily, China Culture Daily, American Broadcasting Company, TASS news agency.
H.E. Mr. Ralph Thomas, Ambassador of Jamaica to China expressed his yearning for Shangri-La’s holy snow mountains, mysterious and splendid temples, deep valleys and tranquil lakes. Meanwhile, he was particularly grateful to Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World for the invitation to the folk performances and cultural show and for the experience of Shangri-La’s primitive cultural beauty.
During the promotion event, Mr. Xiao Xu, County Mayor of Shangri-La delivered an excellent speech. In his speech, he said that by upgrading from a county to a city, Shangrli-La would accelerate the rapid development of tourism, safeguard and improve the brand of “Shangri-La”. The government welcomed diplomatic envoys from all over the world, friends from news media and friends from home and abroad to visit, understand and promote Shangri-La.
Wang Guozhong, Chairman of Political Consultative Conference of Shangri-La County made promotion of Shangri-La’s tourism in details. He gave a broad overview of Shangri-La’s advantages in resources and tourism and he emphasized that “Shangri-La” was a time-honored brand. With the help of the good brand, the government would further improve Shangri-La’s attractiveness, make fully use of the brand and add more value to it. “A more famous brand will bring huge economic and social benefits to Shangri-La and help it go national and go global,” he said.
During the promotion event, H.E. Mr. Juan Carlos Capuay Chávez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Peru awarded Shangri-La County the Plaque of “the Most Recommendable Tourist Destination for its Pristine Beauty by Embassies in China”. Mr. Xiao Xu, County Mayor of Shangri-La received this honorable title on behalf of Shangri-La county. Such title will definitely promote Shangri-La”s protection of eco-environment, international cooperation, tourist brand, brand value and influence.
Every audience was absolutely enchanted by the wonderful songs and dances in the promotion event. They hoped more than ever before that they could visit the holy snow mountain, valleys, glaciers and watch the Tibetan Guozhuang Dance (or the Circle Dance) in Shangri-La ...
On December 16th, 2014, the State Council of China approved Shangri-La of upgrading from a county to a municipality. Taking this opportunity, Shangri-La held various activities on the basis of its traditional horse-riding festival. At the same time, Shangri-La decided to form a strategic partnership with Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World, hoping to fully show the world Shangri-La’s city scenery, cultural landscape, natural beauty, national culture, and achievements in development through closer mutual cooperation. The city hoped to provide a systematic service for better development of Shangri-La’s economy, cultural tourism, for the improvement of Shangri-La’s whole image and city influence and for encouraging more investment and businesses in the city. It aimed to attract entrepreneurs from home and broad to invest and set up businesses in Shangri-La and welcomed tourists from all over the world to enjoy their vacation there. By doing so, Shangri-La would become the model area as a stable and fast-growing city in Tibetan Autonomous Region. Such efforts would also allow Shangri-La to leapfrog and gain influence and fame on the global stage.