The Flanders region of Belgium opened a tourism office in Beijing Tuesday, hoping to attract more Chinese tourists and business people to the world's largest diamond trading area.

 

Flanders includes six unique historical cities of Belgium such as Brussels and Leuven. For Chinese visitors, they can travel from one city to another within one hour's drive. Eighty percent of world's diamond was traded there.

 

Wealthy Chinese people will love the diamonds of Flanders, said Karel Ooms, chief representative of Flanders Tourist Office in Beijing.

 

Hopefully China and Flanders will strengthen tourism exchanges in the near future, said Mark Andries, chief of the cabinet of tourism.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2006)