CHENGDU, China, Nov. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A total of 38 travel consultants, travel writers, and journalists from countries including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom took part in a tour of Chengdu, home to the world famous giant pandas, during which they experienced the city's leisurely lifestyle, rich cultural resources, delicious food, night economy, and newly-built greenways.
Travel consultants, travel writers and journalists from countries including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
This tour marked the beginning of the 2019 Global Travel Merchants Gathering event in Chengdu, according to the Chengdu Culture, Radio and TV, Press and Publication Bureau.
The event, launched by the bureau in 2018, aims to establish a strategic partnership system with global travel merchants by inviting them to investigate the city's tourism market and to build partnerships with local counterparts.
"We love Chengdu so much. My friend and I almost don't want to go back to the United States," said Colleen Kelly, a broadcast journalist from the United States.
Kelly, together with her friend Christina, had just finished the Chengdu tour, where they visited cultural and tourism attractions like the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Broad and Narrow Alley, Jinsha Site Museum, Dufu Thatched Cottage, Mount Qingcheng, and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.
"The city is vibrant, modern, and also filled with history and culture," said Kelly, adding that Chengdu is a great example to show Americans how wonderful China is.
"The food here is great, the night life is great, and the pandas are so cute. We learned a lot and tried a lot of new things. It's such a joy to be here," she said.
Kelly added that Christina and her want to bring back their families here because Chengdu is a family friendly city with many things to do for kids.
"Chengdu is such a big, modern, and fashionable city. I love its energy. It's so vibrant and young people dress so nicely," said Charu Khanna, a travel consultant at Discovery Travel.
What excited Khanna most was the Sichuan cooking class. At the Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Museum, Khanna and her companions learned how to make dumplings, tofu, and Kung Pao chicken.
"I eat Kung Pao chicken all the time in the United States," she said. "It's so interesting to come to the birthplace of Kung Pao chicken and make it by myself."
Khanna was also thrilled to see the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in the northwest of Chengdu. "It was just amazing. The view was breath-taking," she said.
Built in 256 BC, the irrigation system is one of the world's oldest irrigation systems without a dam and is still used for practical purposes.
The bureau plans to invite experts and scholars from tourism organizations such as the World Tourism Alliance (WTA) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), as well as more than 200 global travel merchants from 40 countries and regions to attend the welcome banquet of the 2019 Chengdu International Tourism Expo on Nov 28.
Officials said that the bureau will also arrange a number of classic travel routes for the international guests and invite them to investigate the tourism products in Chengdu during the expo.
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