Li Jun (centre) poses with the Sabah media group. KOTA KINABALU (Aug 22): Two top international tourism cities, Kota Kinabalu and Guilin, are set to become ‘sisters’. A letter of intent for this union will be signed during the Asian Tourism Expo in Guilin on Sept 26-29.
Director general of publicity department of the CPC Guilin Committee Li Jun disclosed this at a dinner he hosted for 11 media representatives from Sabah in Guilin, China on Wednesday. “Guilin mayor Li Chu places great importance on the friendly relations between Guilin and Kota Kinabalu. The two sides have frequent exchanges.
“Our city has extended an invitation to Kota Kinabalu for the China-Asean Expo Tourism Exhibition, hoping to use this platform to sign the letter of intent to establish a sister city relationship,” Li said in his speech. He told his Sabah guests that Guilin is a world-renowned city known for its breathtaking landscapes and is one of China’s first historical and cultural cities, with a history of over 2,100 years. It has long enjoyed the reputation of having “the best scenery under heaven”.
Guilin is also one of the first Chinese cities to open up to tourism. Its karst landscape of Guilin and the Lingqu Canal in Xing’an have been listed as World Natural Heritage and World Irrigation Engineering Heritage, respectively. The Li River, hailed as one of the world’s most beautiful rivers, is a top tourist destination recommended by the World Tourism Organization.
Li added over 300 heads of state, government leaders, and dignitaries from around the world have visited Guilin, drawn by its fame. “In recent years, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have placed great importance on the development of Guilin. “President Xi Jinping has praised Guilin as a treasure bestowed by nature upon the Chinese nation and emphasised that Guilin must be world-class.
He has entrusted Guilin with the new mission and new requirements of becoming a world-class tourism city,” he said. At present, Guilin is striving to become a world-class tourism city, guided by the overall goal of having a global vision, international standards, Chinese style, Guangxi characteristics, and Guilin’s classic charm. “We are focused on achieving the four objectives of becoming a world-class scenic tourism city, a world-class cultural tourism capital, a world-class health and wellness destination, and a world-class tourism consumption centre.
“Guilin’s economy and society are continuously developing, its foreign exchanges are expanding, and its international influence is steadily growing,” he said. Guilin was one of the earliest cities in Guangxi to establish international sister-city relationships. Currently, it has 12 international sister cities, with a particular emphasis on developing friendly relations with Asean countries.
Speaking to the Sabah media later, Li said Kota Kinabalu and Guilin have similarities as both are famous tourist destinations. He said the tourism sector is the starting point to enhance cooperation in other areas like culture and education. “The media visit is a good start for Guilin and Kota Kinabalu to enhance cooperation,” he said, adding he hoped similar visit to Sabah can be arranged for the media in Guilin.
The Sabah media group is on a six-day exploration trip to Guangzhou and Guilin from Aug 18-23 on the invitation of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu. They have visited the WeChat headquarters, AI technology firm iFLYTEK, Canton Tower, the Guangdong Provincial Museum, Guilin Convergence Media Command Centre, and various tourism spots in Guilin. Also present at the dinner were Wen Pu, director of Guilin Foreign Affairs Office; Tang Li, vice director general of Publicity Department of the CLC Guilin Committee; Lu Feixiong, vice president of Guilin People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
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