Delicacies, ancient charm in Henan fascinate Polish visitors

Local delicacies and ancient charm of Kaifeng City in central China's Henan Province fascinated a tour group from Poland, as visa-free policies and convenient flight connections are bringing growing numbers of Polish travelers to China.

The group began its trip by sampling one of Kaifeng's signature delicacies -- Xiaolongbao, or steamed soup dumplings.

"I visited Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Jiyuan, Anyang -- many cities, and I love each of them. Every city has some special taste and difference, culture and food. I like spicy and something salty. Very good. And I think this is my best dinner in this trip," said Tymoteusz Stochaj, a visitor.

The tour group then attended a live historical performance, where theatrical cannon fire, galloping horses and actors in full armor vividly recreated a Song Dynasty battlefield. Kaifeng was the ancient capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126).

"All the special effects, the cannons, the bombs, all the smoke was really great. And I'm really grateful," said Piotrek Koberski, another visitor.

Tour guide Chen Wei has lived and worked in Warsaw for over 30 years, primarily organizing trips for Chinese tourists visiting Poland. This summer, however, he has seen a growing number of what he calls "reverse bookings," as he increasingly leads Polish tour groups to China.

Supported by China's unilateral visa-free policy for Polish citizens and direct flights between Warsaw and Beijing, an increasing number of Polish travelers are choosing China for their summer getaway.

"The number of visitors is growing month by month. Especially now during the summer holiday season, many foreigners are coming to China to travel, and many are independent travelers," said Chen.

China currently offers unilateral visa-free entry to ordinary passport holders from 50 countries. Meanwhile, nationals from 55 countries can now utilize the 240-hour visa-free transit program to enter China via 65 designated ports.

In the first half of this year, visa-free entries by foreign nationals surged 30.6 percent year on year to surpass 17.8 million, accounting for 77.7 percent of all foreign arrivals, according to the National Immigration Administration of China.

Delicacies, ancient charm in Henan fascinate Polish visitors

Annual inflation in the eurozone is expected to edge up to 2.9 percent in July from 2.8 percent in June, according to a flash estimate released by Eurostat on Friday.

The increase was mainly driven by renewed energy price pressure. Energy prices are expected to rise 10.0 percent year-on-year in July, up from 8.5 percent in June, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU). Services inflation is also expected to rise to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent a month earlier.

Food, alcohol and tobacco prices are estimated to rise 1.2 percent year-on-year, down from 1.5 percent in June, while non-energy industrial goods are expected to post an annual inflation rate of 0.9 percent, up from 0.7 percent. Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, is estimated at 2.5 percent in July, up from 2.4 percent in June.

According to Eurostat data, inflation rose in three of the eurozone's largest economies in July. Germany's rate increased to 2.8 percent from 2.4 percent in June, France's to 2.4 percent from 2.0 percent, and Spain's to 3.8 percent from 3.6 percent. Italy's rate, meanwhile, edged down to 2.9 percent from 3.0 percent.

Among eurozone members with available data, Lithuania is estimated to have posted the highest annual inflation rate in July at 5.6 percent, while Estonia is estimated to have posted the lowest at 2.0 percent.

The data came after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided last week to keep its three key interest rates unchanged. The ECB said that the outlook for energy prices remained highly volatile and the full inflationary impact of the energy shock had yet to play out.

Eurozone inflation edges up to 2.9 pct in July as energy prices rise