Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province, is using its fine weather and cleaner air to promote tourism, Wang Ru reports.
White clouds wander slowly in the blue sky, giving visitors the impression of a crystal-clear yet cool summer in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province.
During the recent China Yunnan-India Cultural Week, which also included the China India Yoga Festival, events were held to promote communication between the two sides.
According to Dai Bin, head of the Kunming municipal culture and tourism bureau: "We are trying to combine health and tourism, and develop tourism that lets you enjoy a healthy life here."
Blessed with good climate, Kunming is called a habitable city with "eternal spring".
Speaking about Kunming's good climate and relatively cleaner air, S.Sridharan, a yoga expert who was invited to take part in the activities, says: "I think these things are a very important aspect of Kunming's health industry. Kunming has clean air, clean water and many plants, and should work hard to maintain them to attract more travelers."
Moreover, Kunming's combination of health and tourism gives emphasis to sports, says Dai, adding: "Kunming's 'eternal spring' means that sports competitions and training can be held all year round."
Kunming has conducted marathon races by the Dianchi Lake and dragon boat races, and accelerated the development of infrastructure for sports activities like the Anning hot spring tennis town competitions.
Dai says La Liga, the top professional league of Spanish football is working with Kunming to bring the La Liga Hope Cup, a teenage football competition to the Chinese city, besides building a La Liga football school there.
"Kunming has also attracted football clubs to carry out their winter training, and we also want to build Kunming into a famous football training base in China," Dai says.
"But football is just one aspect of our sports development, and we also want to work on marathons, horsemanship and other sectors so we can develop healthy tourism in our city."
Kunming's tourism also features its diverse local ethnic culture. For example, an amusement park has been built on the site of the former Dian state, which goes back 2,000 years.
The roller coaster in the park is designed like the head of a tiger, a nod to the fact that the tiger was the totem of the ancient state.
Speaking about how the old culture has been given a modern twist, Dai says: "You can see traces of the ancient Dian culture everywhere in this park. And although you may have experienced entertainment facilities at other parks, the ones here give you a very different feeling."
As for the China India Yoga Festival, it introduced India's traditional medicine system Ayurveda, of which yoga is an important part.
Li Zhaosheng, deputy director of Kunming's health development office, says: "Yoga has connections with the health industry. Our activities will deepen the understanding of each other."
An Ayurveda class, traditional Chinese and Indian medicine forums, a photograph exhibition of Indian culture were among the activities held during the cultural week.
Sridharan was invited to give some lectures on yoga. He says he feels happy about Chinese interest in yoga.
His colleague V. Srinivasan was interested in tai chi after watching a performance at the opening ceremony of the cultural week.
Dai says the China India Yoga Festival serves as a platform for mutual understanding, and this is not the first time Kunming is hosting this festival.
"When we first held the festival in 2016, it did not have so many activities. But now we have added local cultural, health and tourism aspects to it, and in the future we will add more," Dai says.
"Last year, a large wedding was held in Kunming by an Indian family after they got to know of this city through the festival."
Contact the writer at wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn
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