Hangzhou, capital city of east China's
Zhejiang Province and one of China's favorite tourist
destinations, is set to be busier than ever between April and
October this year. It's being suggested that as many as 16 million
people from home and abroad could attend a 'leisure fair' being
held in the city.
Announcing the details in the Beijing International Hotel
yesterday, Dr. Derek Casey, chair of the World Leisure Organization
(WLO), a non-governmental organization established in 1952, said
"This World Leisure Expo is designed to celebrate the diversity of
leisure and its capacity to change the lives of people and
communities worldwide. It will present the latest and best examples
of innovative design, public policies for leisure, effective
management, programming of facilities and equipment
manufacture."
The 2006 Hangzhou World Leisure Expo is the first and largest of
its kind ever to be held in the world. For almost 800 years,
Hangzhou has been famous as a worldly paradise for its natural
beauty, amenities of living as well as its affluence. It boasts
quite number of crowned titles: the paradise on earth, the capital
of tea and silk, the land of milk and honey.
In his speech, Dr. Casey praised Hangzhou's leisure facilities
and its ability to hold such an event. A total of 3.5 billion yuan
(US$434 million) has been invested in the major venue for the event
-- the 'World Leisure Expo Garden' -- which is a combination of
leisure and conference facilities, exhibition sites and residential
areas.
The six-month leisure carnival is packed with numerous cultural
and related events: the 4th West Lake Chorus Festival; Exhibition
of Cultural Relics and Works of Fine Art at the Zhejiang Museum;
the 2006 Hangzhou Silk Fashion Show and the 2nd China Invitational
Tournament of Paper Cutting Art, to name just a few of the
interesting things to see and do.
As part of the 2006 Hangzhou World Leisure Expo, the 9th World
Leisure Congress will be held in the city between October
15-20.
(China.org.cn by Wind Gu February 23, 2006)