चीन – Page 7 – आवारा मुसाफिर

Santa welcomes visitors at winter wonderland in China’s Arctic Town

December 21, 2020613 Views

Santa Claus and his elves have been busy at work turning a Christmas village in northern China into a winter wonderland for visitors. In a two-storey wooden house with about 100 Father Christmas dolls, the white-bearded figure in a red suit writes down seasonal wishes with a quill and poses with tourists at the theme park on the outskirts of Mohe, China’s northernmost city. Visitors line up for a photo-taking session with Santa, played by Ville Haapassallo, 35, from Finland, inside the Santa Claus House at a Christmas theme park on the outskirts of Mohe, China's northernmost city in Heilongjiang province December 20, 2020. REUTERS/Xihao Jiang “If they want postcards, I write down my wishes and guests can send these cards to their friends or parents,” said Ville Haapassallo, 35, f...

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China’s COVID-free ‘Hawaii’ chases local tourist dollar with a vengeance

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 7, 2020876 Views

Millions of domestic tourists are descending on China’s southernmost island province of Hainan, presenting a surreal contrast with grim hospital scenes, shuttered restaurants and stifling home quarantine elsewhere in a virus-ravaged world. Known at home as the “Hawaii of China”, the island, about the size of Taiwan, has been free of coronavirus for six months, drawing eager shoppers to duty-free malls, couples seeking a sub-tropical backdrop for wedding pictures, and surfers just looking to “breathe freely”. October arrivals of 9.6 million, according to official data, exceeded the year-earlier figure, before the pandemic struck, by 3.1%, although foreign visitors slumped 87%. That was a far cry from February, when arrivals had dropped almost 90%. A couple poses for pictures durin...