Chinese president arrives at Col du Tourmalet mountain pass

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrived at the Col du Tourmalet mountain pass in the French Pyrenees on Tuesday.

Xi and his wife were greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, at the drop-off point.

Xi, who arrived in Paris on Sunday afternoon, is currently on a state visit to France at the invitation of Macron. The Chinese president is also set to visit Serbia and Hungary in the coming days.

The Central Asia Park was opened on Sunday in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an one year after the first China-Central Asia Summit, to showcase the strengthening of regional cooperation.

The park is located near the Xi'an International Exhibition Center, one of the venues for the 2023 China-Central Asia Summit. Sculptures of horses and camel caravans decorate the approximately 53-hectare park, symbolizing the prosperous exchanges over centuries and the beautiful vision of joint development between China and Central Asian countries.

The building at the main entrance of the park is called "Silk Road Meeting Room" and displays gifts from Central Asian countries, including traditional costumes from Kazakhstan and sculptures of "bow shooting" from Kyrgyzstan.

Visitors can buy specialties including snacks and honey from Central Asian countries in the park's shop.

Xi'an is a historical city founded about 3,100 years ago. Formerly known as Chang'an, it is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, which saw flourishing interactions between China and Central Asia.

The China-Central Asia Summit, held in the city in May 2023, was the first summit held offline by the leaders of the six countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian states 31 years ago.