Chongqing- On the evening of November 18th, the Chongqing Municipal Commission for Culture and Tourism Development invited diplomats and international business figures on a Yangtze cruise to personally experience the cultural tourism resources of Chongqing. Participants also attended the 14th Chongqing Yangtze International Red Leaf Festival Opening Ceremony during the four-day excursion.

Guests of the Chongqing Municipal Commission for Culture and Tourism Development join for a group photograph outside the Gate of Hell at Fengdu Ghost City.

The party traveled aboard the Yangtze Gold 6 cruise ship and visited famous tourist locations along the river including Fengdu Ghost City, Fengjie White Emperor City, as well as further cruises through the Lesser Three Gorges of the Daning River, and also the Lesser Lesser Three Gorges up the Madu River.

There were also exciting performances during the trip that included Miao cultural heritage onboard the ship, and the spectacular Warring Three Kingdoms show in Zhongxian, which is held at night and features 180-degree mobile audience stands, horsemanship, acrobatics, and special visual-audio effects that left the audience feeling amazed.

Highlights of the trip featured the impressive Warring Three Kingdoms performance in Zhongxian.

In Wushan City, the party of diplomats, businessmen, and media representatives attended the opening performance of Mountain Goddess in the main theatre, which followed the opening ceremony of the 14th Chongqing Yangtze Three Gorges International Red Leaf Festival.

On the final morning, event organizers and local officials accompanied the party of diplomats and businessmen on a trip to Goddess Peak in Wu Gorge. Highlights included views over breathtaking mountain scenery and a cable car journey to a viewing platform and mountain pathway adorned by the seasonal red leaves of Wushan.

The breathtaking scenery overlooking Wu Gorge from Goddess Peak in Wushan County.

Additionally, there is also the highest outdoor elevator in Chongqing Municipality that stands 222 meters high, at the bottom of which is another cable car leg that can take visitors further on to the gorge floor by Shennv (Goddess) Stream.

The Sky Road that leads to Goddess Peak was built only three years ago, and is also symbolic of the achievements in poverty eradication, as the remote communities of Wushan are now connected through the road network, and have access to all modern services including internet and mobile communications.

The trip included a three-hour cruise through the Lesser Three Gorges, and the party of guests was left amazed by the dramatic scenery.

En route to Goddess Peak, the convoy stopped by a location on the mountain roadside to take part in a tree-planting ceremony to symbolize international friendship. Representatives of different countries as diverse as Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia each stood by a newly planted red leaf tree, and then shoveled soil into the base on cue.

Finally, all the participants signed the Red Leaf Expo Park International Friendship Forest Signature Wall with their names and countries, then stood together for a group photograph.

The party of diplomatics, businessmen, and guests joined for a group photograph after the red leaf tree planting ceremony.

Without exception, the attendees were amazed by the wealth of tourism resources and the natural beauty they witnessed throughout the trip. On their smooth return to Chongqing by high-speed train, they lavished praise and gratitude for the travel experience courtesy of the Chongqing Municipal Commission for Culture and Tourism Development.

The rich cultural tourism resources of Chongqing are still relatively unknown in neighboring countries, but diplomats vowed to continue enhancing cultural exchange programs, and also promote the tourism resources of Chongqing so that more and more international travels have the opportunity to admire the cultural treasures and modern tourist infrastructure that Chongqing has to offer.

Guests were treated to a wonderful live stage performance of Mountain Goddess at a theatre in Wushan following the opening ceremony of the 14th Red Leaf Festival.