On Friday 28 June 2019 a delegation from the city of Shaoguan came to Brussels for the promotion held at the Tangla Hotel in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe of Shaoguan as a “Cultural Tourism” city.

This event had been given much importance with many invited guests and a large number of journalists and photographs.

Mr. Bernard Dewit, chairman of BCECC, gave a wonderful introduction with a presentation of all the speakers and led this promotion conference in the right direction.

After a first discovery of the city of Shaoguan by a video presentation, Mr. Che Weimin, minister counsellor at the Mission of PR China to the European Union, gave a general overview of the exceptional location:

“Shaoguan is a remarkable city. A unique location with rivers, mountains and natural sceneries with a great cultural heritage. All these beautiful things merit a visit. Meditation and admiration should be followed by watching this magnificent city and connecting environment. Knowing the good and the beautiful of the city is the challenge. Shaoguan is now working hard at its rich cultural tourism resources.  Mr. Liu Qiyu, member of the Shaoguan Municipality Standing Committee and director general of the Publicity Department, provided further details of the city concerning its origins and history. In Shaoguan live and work 1 000 000 people; it is situated in the northern Guangdong Province which has 100 million inhabitants. Hong Kong, the big city metropolis, is approximately 250 kilometres from this city. A visit can easily be arranged from there. Hopefullly, we all look forward to seeing this terrific place in a green natural environment. Yes, in China we have to think big, not only as regards residents, the strong economic power, the explosive world trade, and the digital revolution of which China is part of the top references, but also with regard to cultural and touristic sights of interest. China and in this case Shaoguan is aware of this and will also open the doors to its sights of interest to Europe and the rest of the world.”

The open doors policy in this area can only bring them benefits.  The promotion conference ended with a signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between Shaoguan and Belgium and also a visit to the photo exhibition of some of the major sights of the city and the surrounding nature and sceneries.

Mr. Daniël Verheyden, attaché at Brussels International, stressed the different realisations between China and Belgium and welcomed this newly signed cooperation agreement: “Today we have had the great opportunity to discover this fantastic touristic and cultural pearl of China.” 

Now he will visit Shaoguan on his next trip to China. This is one step in the right direction and he hopes that Shaoguan will become a popular touristic and cultural destination.

Those who were not present can still visit an exhibition of the city of Shaoguan at the Schuman Square until autumn 2019. It will certainly be worth visiting this exhibition because Shaoguan is more than a beautiful discovery.

Piu Piero

G.N.S.P.A.