The highly anticipated “Silk Road Grand Ceremony,” the opening ceremony of the 7th Dunhuang Tour – Silk Road International Tourism Festival and the International Travel Agents Convention, kicked off on June 20, 2017, in Yongjing County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province. Lin Duo, Secretary of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and Director of the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial People’s Congress, declared the event open. Tang Renjian, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Gansu, delivered a welcome speech, while Du Jiang, Deputy Director of the National Tourism Administration, gave the opening address. Officials from the Kingdom of Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism, Tith Chantha; the Executive Director of the World Tourism Organization, Zhu Shanzhong; and the Chief Operating Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Dai Long, also addressed the audience. Hao Yuan, Vice Governor of Gansu Province, presided over the official ceremony.
(Photo: The opening ceremony venue)
As the only permanent international tourism festival along the Silk Road named after the Silk Road, the Dunhuang Tour – Silk Road International Tourism Festival has been successfully held for six editions. The 7th edition, themed “Explore Colorful Gansu, Develop Silk Road Tourism,” once again ushers in a grand celebration of Silk Road culture. Around 600 participants attended, including leaders from the National Tourism Administration, Gansu Provincial Government, the guest country, the World Tourism Organization, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, officials from some other countries’ tourism authorities, leaders from relevant provincial and regional governments within China, domestic and international travel agents and investors, tourism online operators, leaders from some member units of the Gansu Tourism Industry Leading Group, party and government leaders as well as tourism bureau heads from various cities and prefectures in Gansu, and journalists from mainstream media at home and abroad.
(Photo: The awarding ceremony for the “Top 10 Overseas Travel Agents in the Eyes of Chinese People for 2017 Silk Road”)
During the opening ceremony, eight major series of events were launched, including the 2017 Silk Road Tourism Promotion Night, the “Charming Yellow River · Splendid Linxia” night tour of the Yellow River, a showcase of Yellow River water tourism projects, and the Silk Road Golden Section of Gansu Tourism Inspection and Route Exploration activity. Among them, the Silk Road Golden Section of Gansu Tourism Inspection and Route Exploration was especially popular among guests and tourists.
“Essence Inspection Route of the Gansu Silk Road Hexi Corridor”: The route from Yongjing County – Lanzhou – Wuwei – Jinchang – Zhangye – Jiayuguan – Dunhuang condenses the essence of the Hexi Corridor.
(Photo: The Dunhuang Yardang landform along the “Essence Inspection Route of the Gansu Silk Road Hexi Corridor”)
“Gansu Yellow River Scenery and Ethnic Culture Inspection Route”: Along the Yongjing County – Linxia Prefecture – Gannan route, experience the folk customs on both sides of the Yellow River.
(Photo: The Yellow River Three Gorges in Yongjing County along the “Gansu Yellow River Scenery and Ethnic Culture Inspection Route”)
“Gansu Eastern Cradle of Chinese Civilization Inspection Route”: Along the Yongjing County – Lanzhou – Tianshui route, experience a journey to trace the roots of Chinese civilization amidst the blending landscapes.
(Photo: The Maiji Mountain in Tianshui City along the “Gansu Eastern Cradle of Chinese Civilization Inspection Route”)
Qunar.com, as an outstanding Chinese travel online operator, actively participated in this “Silk Road Grand Ceremony” with the purpose of serving travelers and supporting the development of the national tourism industry. Leveraging the advantages of its comprehensive platform and multi-channel resources, Qunar customized a “flagship store” communication base for Gansu tourism. Through initiatives such as “Events + KOL-based Word-of-Mouth Marketing” and “Big Data Services,” Qunar promoted the Gansu tourism brand image in a well-paced manner and disseminated the profound connotations of the premium Silk Road culture of Gansu.
During the tourism festival conference, Qunar conducted in-depth promotion of the Silk Road International Tourism Festival through PC-side ad placements on the Qunar platform, Weibo and WeChat, as well as the Gansu Qunar flagship store. This helped embed the Gansu tourism brand image deeply in the hearts of the vast traveling consumer public and contributed to the dissemination of Silk Road culture.
Event details: http://www.tourgansu.com/topic/silkRoad?tf=djsyzbxt&in_track=djsyzbxt