The thriving inbound tourism in China has directly manifested the country's great efforts to advance high-level opening up, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
The 3rd Yunnan International Communication Forum was held earlier this month in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. During the forum, a report on annual buzz words was released, with the hot word "ChinaTravel" listed in the top 10.
China expects a growing number of foreign tourists to visit China and learn about the Asian country, said Mao.
"The flourishing of travel in China is a direct reflection of the country's promotion of high-level opening up. In the first three quarters of this year, the number of inbound tourists traveling in China was about 95 million trips, an increase of nearly 80 percent year on year. As China will open itself wider to the outside world and the visa-free policy will be launched by China for an increasingly larger number of countries, I believe that the popularity of 'ChinaTravel' will be even higher. 'It is always a pleasure to greet a friend from afar'. Warmth and friendliness are the Chinese way of hospitality, and openness and inclusiveness are the ways China interacts with the outside world. We welcome more foreign friends to come to China, visit China, experience China, and learn about China," said the spokeswoman.
Booming inbound tourism shows China's increasing high-standard opening up: spokeswoman
Israeli forces have launched fresh strikes across multiple areas of the Gaza Strip, with local sources reporting civilian casualties and a further worsening of the humanitarian crisis.
According to Gaza's Civil Defense, the Israeli artillery strike on Friday evening in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City has killed five local residents, including children. The strike brought the number of Palestinians killed since the October ceasefire to around 400.
"A classroom at the displacement site, where five families were sheltering, was targeted. I was inside when the walls collapsed on us during the strike. I was trapped under the rubble along with my grandson, who was injured. After the bombing, I tried to get up and managed to get out of the place. There were many dead and body parts everywhere," recalled Ismail Al-Barsh, an eyewitness of the attack.
Abu Hamza Affana, an ambulance director who took part in the rescue operation, said Israeli forces repeatedly obstructed emergency efforts.
"When ambulance crews first responded to the distress call, the Israeli army opened fire, forcing us to withdraw due to the continued shooting and shelling of the school. After we were later allowed to proceed, we reached the site and dealt with the casualties," he said.
The Israeli military said the incident is under investigation.
The attacks came as displaced families grapple with severe weather and growing shortages of shelter and basic supplies, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
Local sources said that as a powerful storm swept through the region recently, at least 13 Palestinian children died due to shortages of essential supplies and medical services.
Gaza humanitarian crisis worsens as Israeli strikes continue
