China cooperates with Russia on 'red tourism'

China will cooperate with Russia to develop a tourism program with a revolutionary theme in coming months, according to cntv.cn.

From July to October, more than 1,000 Chinese tourists will visit sites in Russia associated with the former Soviet Union and the communist revolution, such as Red Square in Moscow, Lenin's mausoleum and the cruiser "Aurora".

At the same time, China will invite tourists from Russia to visit some renowned revolution-era bases.

The coordinating group for revolution-era tourism, a sub-sector under the China National Tourism Administration, is organizing the exchange program, which aims at deepening cooperation between China and Russia, especially in revolution-era tourism.

Revolution-era tourism, also called "red tourism", is gaining popularity in China as the government pumps money into developing sites related to the Chinese revolution. It is estimated that, by 2015, red tourism sites nationwide will welcome 800 million tourists per year and earn revenue of 200 billion yuan ($32 billion), according to Xinhua News Agency.

"Red tourism in China is developing very well now," said Luo Dihui, deputy director of the coordinating group. China has 14 national 5A-level revolution-era tourist sites.

"Developing red tourism needs international cooperation," Luo said. "China and Russia share profound red tourism resources which I believe will be a growing point in the future."

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn