New Yorkers learn more about China's scenery, culture

China Tourism Night 2019, a travel trade show held by the Chinese government, wowed New Yorkers Monday evening through the presentation of China's beautiful scenic sites and fascinating culture.

Organized by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the show held in Roosevelt Hotel in New York attracted some 220 participants from China and the United States, including government officials, tourism workers, travel writers and vloggers and China lovers.

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, in his congratulatory letter to the event, expressed his appreciation for initiatives that promote mutually beneficial relations between China and his state and nation through increased cultural experiences, opportunities for travel and tourism, and exchange of educational resources.

Grace Meng, a Chinese American congresswomen from New York, commended in her message the China National Tourist Office (CNTO) of New York for helping to generate commerce for the China tourism economy as well as promoting China's culture by bridging together the peoples of two countries.

Themed Beautiful China - Splendid Culture, the travel trade show presented a mini-film - Unimaginable China, which featured many tourist destinations across the vast country.

It also invited Max Horne, a Harvard student and US champion of the Chinese Bridge competition, to share his knowledge about China's food, cultures and people's way of living.

Director of the CNTO of New York Lin Kuang conferred an award of China tourism ambassador on American singer Christine Welch, whose Chinese song A Million Possibilities went viral on the Internet in China.

The PhD student in Chinese literature wrote the song in collaboration with her friend. The song has become a hit background music piece for videos on TikTok, a Chinese social media featuring short videos.

American TV hostess Samantha Brown, notable for her travel shows, presented a mini-film she made together with the CNTO of New York on Xi'an, a northwestern Chinese city, also an ancient capital more than 1,000 years ago, with diverse cultural features.

Between introductions and presentations, traditional Chinese performances, including body contortion and face-changing Sichuan opera, dazzled the audience and brought them in contact with the intangible cultural heritage of China.