More foreign tourists go for lesser-known travel destinations in China

Increasing numbers of foreign tourists, taking advantage of China's 240-hour transit visa-free policy, are opting for in-depth travel experiences in the country's lesser known destinations, in addition to visiting traditional landmark attractions and major cities.

At the Shuanghe Cave scenic area, located in southwest China's Guizhou Province, known for Asia's longest cave, an increasing number of foreign tourists have engaged in activities such as cave abseiling and rock climbing while enjoying the stunning scenery.

In addition to exploring natural wonders, foreign tourists are also keen to visit cultural sites.

On a cruise at the Shennv Stream scenic area in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a group of tourists marveled at the modern engineering along the route. This scenic area has been developed alongside the construction of the Three Gorges Project, the world's largest hydropower project.

"I like engineering. So the dam that we came through and the ship lift has been just incredible. Nothing seen anything like it in my life," said an American tourist.

"We come from a very small country, so everything is so big for us," said a Slovenian tourist.

In a small village in Shitai County, Chizhou City, east China's Anhui Province, foreign visitors come to experience the traditional rural lifestyle.

"[On the] first day, we went for some river rafting, which was nice, and we had a lot of good food, a lot of different specialties here," said a Norwegian tourist.

Foreign tourists are not only exploring lesser-known town villages across the country; even in big cities like Beijing, they are finding off-the-beaten-path spots.

In Shixia Village, located beneath the Great Wall in the Chinese capital, some German tourists chose to avoid the crowds and quietly appreciate the majestic structure of the wall and the charm of traditional homestays.

"The homestay that we're currently in has been absolutely wonderful. Just nice, peaceful countryside roads with nice mountains, nice hills. So overall, absolutely fantastic," said a German tourist.

According to data from the Qunar platform, a Beijing-based online travel platform, the number of cities with foreign tourist flight bookings has reached 171, an increase of 18 compared to the same period last year. The top 20 cities with the fastest growth in flight bookings are all located in third-tier cities and below.

More foreign tourists go for lesser-known travel destinations in China

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar