What the Mississippi River is to Americans, the Yangtze is to Chinese, said a government tourism official from China.

"Just as the Mississippi River has raised many Americans, the Yangtze River, as the third-longest river in the world, is the mother river of Chinese and the origin of Chinese civilization," said Zhang Xilong, deputy general director of the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China.

"That's why we launched this tourism promotion event featuring the Yangtze River," he said at "China Tourism Night 2018: Beautiful China-The Charm of the Yangtze River" in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Tuesday.

A delegation of 34 people from the tourism industry from the cities and provinces along the Yangtze River attended. They represented Qinghai, Sichuan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Yunnan provinces, and Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities.

By introducing the natural scenery, cultural heritage, folk customs and modern development of the area, the delegation aimed to give representatives from the US tourism industry a better understanding of tourism resources along the Yangtze.

Zhang said the Yangtze River has nurtured the most prosperous region of China's economy. Megacities like Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Suzhou and Chengdu are all located along the golden waterway.

"And the Yangtze River Basin has the richest cultural and tourism resources," said Zhang, noting that among the 53 World Heritage Sites in China, 25 of them are in the basin.

CNN has rated the 40 most beautiful scenic spots in China. The top five of the list are from the basin, namely the Hailuogou Glacier Zone and the Jiuzhaigou Valley in Sichuan province, Potala Palace in the Tibet autonomous region, Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan province, and Potatso National Park in Shangri-La county, Yunnan.

"As the only surviving ancient civilization, China is blessed with numerous cultural and natural heritages. Among them, the Yangtze River Basin is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization," said Li Liyan, cultural counselor for the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

"Its coastal areas are famous in China and the world, with its flourishing economy, colorful culture and long history. So I would like to suggest to you if you have never been in China, try to understand China starts from the Yangtze River," Li recommended.

Zhang said that tourism between China and the US developed rapidly in the past few years.

In 2016, China and the US co-hosted the Year of Tourism. For the first time, the number of visits between the two countries exceeded 5.2 million. The number of Chinese visiting the US was 2.97 million, who spent close to $35 billion.

In 2017, the China-US Tourism High-Level Dialogue was held in Atlanta. Earlier this year, China and the US once again launched a dialogue in Hangzhou, focusing on how to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and tourism cooperation under the new situation.

"The two sides agreed that people-to-people exchanges are of paramount importance. The potential for tourism cooperation is large," said Zhang.

The number of tourists visiting each other's country continues to grow at a high rate. This year, the number is expected to exceed 5.5 million.

"The achievement is worth cherishing," said Zhang, hoping that the tourism industry and more related fields of the two countries should work together to expand exchanges, to inject new energy into the stable and healthy development of Sino-US relations," he said.

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