Guilin, a well-known scenic city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region , hopes to host at least 120,000 tourists from the Republic of Korea (ROK) this year.
Chen Yunchun, deputy head of Guilin tourism bureau, said his city would make good use of the opportunities offered by China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), improve its tourism marketing and intensify promotional tourism activities specially designed to attract ROK visitors.
The number of exchanges and business cooperation between ROK cities and Guilin has been increasing over the past few years. ROK businesses, including Daewoo, have rushed to Guilin to make investments or build their workshops in the southern Chinese city.
A poll conducted by the local press in ROK showed that 70 percent of the people surveyed expressed a wish to visit China, 90 percent of whom are particularly interested in visiting Guilin.
With a history of over 2,000 years, Guilin is renowned for its green mountains, clear water and strangely-shaped stone formation.
The city hosted more than 10 million tourists last year, a record high. Of the total, overseas tourists made up 900,000, including 100,000 tourists from ROK alone.
(People's Daily February 1, 2002)
