China Boosts Tourism in Countries along the Maritime Silk Road

China has become a major driving force for tourism in countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， according to a UN World Tourism Organizations（UNWTO） report released on May 28. The number of tourists in the areas along the road grew from 775，000 in 2012 to nearly 3.1 million in 2016， with 2.1 million coming from China， the report said.

Released at the Belt and Road tourism city mayors summit in Zhengzhou， capital of central Chinas Henan Province， the report focused on maritime heritage and cruises， and examined implications for UNWTO members.

“As a component of the Chinaproposed Belt and Road Initiative， the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is expected to play a vital role for maritime infrastructure development through regional cooperation， and it has the potential to favor the establishment of new maritime routes based on the ancient Maritime Silk Road heritage，” said Robert Travers， a consultant with the UNWTO Silk Road Program.

International tourism along the Belt and Road accounts for around 70 percent of the global total， said Li Jinzao， Chinas vice minister of culture and tourism， at the summit. During the 2016-2020 period， China is expected to receive more than 85 million tourists from countries along the Belt and Road， while more Chinese tourists will travel to these countries as well， Li added.

Chinese Acrobats Win First Prize at Ukrainian Intl Circus Festival

An acrobatic troupe from central Chinas Hunan Province won the first prize at an international competition of circus art on June 1. The troupe from Hunan Acrobatics Art Theater （HAAT） beat more than 30 participants from 12 countries at the third Kiev International Youth Festival of Circus Art “Golden Kashtan，” held at the National Circus of Ukraine（NCU）.

Liu Yang， a member of the troupe， said her teams victory was the result of hard work and lengthy preparations. “To prepare our performances， we trained for a year and a half， nonstop. Our coaches accompanied us day and night， so we achieved todays success，” Liu said.

“The Chinese school of acrobatics is the oldest and the strongest one. We must learn from them，” said Lyudmila Shevchenko， director of the NCU. “We also had quite strong performances， but China had everything special – style， music，” she added.

During the three-day event， circus professionals and amateur performers from China， Ukraine， Switzerland， Israel， Belarus， and European Union countries competed for 12 medals in four age groups.

The contestants staged a total of 52 performances， demonstrating their skills in juggling and equilibristic feats. The Chinese troupe， in particular， amazed spectators by presenting an impressive contortion performance and a breathtaking handstand performance.

Noting that Ukraine also has a profound tradition in acrobatics， Zhao Shuangwu， director general of the HAAT， asserted that one of the goals that the Chinese troupe wanted to achieve by participating in the festival was to bring acrobatic performance with Chinese cultural characteristics to acrobatics fans in Ukraine.

More People Take Chinese Language Tests in 2017

A total of 6.5 million foreigners took Chinese language tests in 2017， up 8.33 percent from 2016， according to the Ministry of Education. The growth indicates that the Chinese language has become more international， said Tian Lixin， a senior ministry official， at a press conference.

China has hosted Chinese language tests in about 1，100 localities in 130 countries and regions， of which 34 were newly added in 2017， Tian said. In addition， the number of Confucius Institutes across the world increased by 14 to a total of 526 in 2017， while 40 “Confucius classrooms” were added， making a total of 1，113.