THE 2021 (22nd) Hainan Island Carnival kicked off in Haikou, capital city of Hainan Province, on Dec. 10. Zhang Xu, Chinese vice minister of Culture and Tourism, said in his speech that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will continue to support Hainan in comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, support Hainan’s aim to become an international tourism consumption center, and provide assistance for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port. A series of activities are scheduled to be held during the festival, including 2021 Hainan World Leisure Tourism Expo, 2021 Hainan International Tourism and Food Expo, second Hainan International Tourism Equipment Expo, second Hainan World Culture Week, and fourth China-ASEAN University Student Culture Week. Haikou is the event’s main venue, while five other cities, namely Sanya, Danzhou, Qionghai, Wanning and Wenchang, will serve as supporting venues, in which conferences and exhibitions, culture and art, sports and competitions, and promotional activities will be staged to enrich people’s visiting experience. In terms of tourism, resources of exquisite scenic spots, rural tourism and shopping tourism are fully integrated. Seven thematic tourism routes including shopping, rural tourism, health tourism, red tourism, conference and exhibition, research and study and oceanic tourism will be launched to attract more visitors to travel to Hainan. The festival jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the People’s Government of Hainan Province has become a vital platform in the past 20 years for Hainan to reinforce cooperation and exchanges in the fields of tourism, culture and sports with the world. This session of Hainan Island Carnival digs deep into all the possible “joyful elements” and fully displays the rich and unique tourism and cultural resources of Hainan so as to engage both tourists and residents to actively participate and interact in building Hainan Island into a joyful tourist destination. (China Daily) | 