2020.09.21
On September 20, the 2nd Dahe Civilization Tourism Forum & WTA·Yellow River Dialogue, co-sponsored by WTA, Culture and Tourism Department of Shanxi Province, and Linfen Municipal Committee and Government, was successfully held in Linfen City, Shanxi Province. Duan Qiang, Chairman of World Tourism Alliance (WTA), Lin Wu, Governor of Shanxi Provincial People’s Government, and His Excellency Mohamed Abd El-Sattar Elbadri, Egyptian Ambassador to China, attended and addressed this event. Zhang Fuming, Vice Governor of Shanxi Provincial People’s Government prevised over this event. More than 300 people, including ambassadors or representatives of Zambia, Bulgaria, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Russia, South Africa, Cameroon and other countries to China, member representatives of WTA, cultural scholars, tourism experts, travel agent representatives, new media friends, etc., gathered beside the Yellow River to conduct in-depth exchanges and discussions on the cultural tourism industry.
In his speech, Duan Qiang said that the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 this year has made us more deeply aware that people on the planet are living in a community of shared future, with diverse civilizations closely linked. After the pandemic is effectively brought under control, people-to-people exchanges will be further enhanced, social interactions will be further expanded and cooperation on all fronts will be closer. WTA will enhance exchanges, conduct close cooperation and join hands with relevant countries and regions in the world’s great river basins, to make new and greater contributions to the development of global tourism and the better life of mankind.
At the forum, Shan Jixiang, Dean of Palace Museum Academy, delivered a keynote speech on how to “revitalize” cultural heritage resources; Wei Xiao’an, President of the Leisure and Holiday Branch of China Tourism Association, discussed the civilization and utilization of great rivers from the perspective of tourism; the history of the Central University for Nationalities Professor Monman from the School of History and Culture, Minzu University of China shared his understanding of the spirit and soul of the Yellow River.
Themed on “River·Harmony·Integration”, this forum consists of five chapters, namely, “Dream of River”, “Soul of River”, “Rhyme of River”, “Sound of River” and “Beauty of River”, and integrates resource display, tourism promotion, academic discussion, cultural exchange and art performance. The aim is to jointly discuss and share ideas on cultural, historical and tourism values of great rivers, build a bridge of communication between cities in great river basins, establish an international platform for the inheritance and innovation of great river civilizations as well as cooperation and exchange of cultural heritages, and share the experience of tourism development in great river basins. At the same time, as a practical action to carry forward the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important speech at the Symposium on Ecological Protection and Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin, it will have an important influence on the protection, inheritance and promotion of the Yellow River culture, telling a good story of the Yellow River, constantly enhancing the influence of Yellow River civilization in the world’s culture and tourism, and fueling high-quality development of culture and tourism in Shanxi.
In September 2018, the 1st Dahe Civilization Tourism Forum & WTA·Yellow River Dialogue were held in Linfen, Shanxi, to deeply explore rich connotations of the Yellow River culture, form a batch of research results on the civilization of great rivers, display the unique charm of the Yellow River culture in an all-round manner, create a tourism brand of “Chinese Root, Yellow River Soul”, drive integrated development of cultural and tourism, facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between great rivers in the world, and contribute to the high-quality development of global cultural and tourism industry.