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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With lockdowns and shutdowns back across several countries to contain the possible second or third wave of COVID-19, China’s domestic travel rebound has fueled discussions in the travel and tourism (T&T) sector. As a result, mentions around ‘China’ and related keywords have risen by over 16% in 2020 (as on 10 December) earnings call transcripts compared to 2019, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. As the Chinese government continue to impose strict quarantine measures for the returning travelers, people have looked at domestic travel. Come 2021, GlobalData expects Chinese luxury hotel room occupancy rates to be a cut above budget or midscale rooms. Companies such as Hyatt and Hilton have seen recoveries in China with improving occupancy rates since mid-2020. A...
Read MoreMount Everest is higher than previously thought, Nepal and China said on Tuesday, settling a long-running conflict over the height of the world’s tallest peak that straddles their shared border. Kathmandu and Beijing had differed over its exact height but after each sent an expedition of surveyors to the summit they have agreed that the official height is 8,848.86 metres (29,031.69 feet), a bit more than their previous calculations. Everest is an “eternal symbol of ... friendship between Nepal and China,” said Nepali Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, announcing the findings of their surveys on a video call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen through an aircraft window during a mountain ...
Read MoreMillions 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...
Read MoreWalt Disney Co will lose its option to buy a plot of land next to its Hong Kong theme park that was to allow for future expansion after the city’s government said on Wednesday it would not extend the option due to current economic conditions. The announcement comes as the Chinese-ruled hub tries to bolster its flagging economy and badly hit tourism sector, which was impacted heavily by anti-government protests last year and more recently, the coronavirus. In a file photo, men wearing face masks following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak walk behind a closed gate at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong, China. REUTERS/Lam Yik Hong Kong’s Disneyland resort is owned by a joint venture, Hong Kong International Theme Parks Ltd (HKITP), of which the local government ...
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