China, Russia Strengthen Cooperation on 'Red Tourism'

China eyes to strengthen its cooperation with Russia regarding "red tourism," remarked the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) on Monday.

Tourism officials from the two nations recently reached an agreement to conduct promotional events from June 28 until July 1 at the hometown of New China's founder Mao Zedong, Xiangtan City.

The activities aim to promote the so-called "red tourism" and visits to historical landmarks, which is seen as a means to educate the people about the history of the Communist Party of China.

"During these activities, the two countries will discuss the cooperation mechanism and approaches on how to further develop red tourism," Luo Dihui, an official of CNTA in charge of the red tourism promotion, remarked.

Luo also said that such cooperation has been sought by the Chinese government in line with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the country's victory in the War Against Japanese Aggression, as well as the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.

The upcoming promotional events are also regarded as a declaration of China's firm stance on the significance of remembering history and treasuring peace.

Apart from the activities, China and Russia will also co-design red tourism routes that will cater to the youth. The routes aim to instill firm belief in peace and opposition to aggression.

While each nation's government will ink cooperation memos, Chinese and Russian cities are also set to sign city-to-city cooperation deals.

Other countries such as France and Germany have also offered tourism products that draw attention from Chinese tourists. The promos include visits to the hometowns of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and to the European residence of Chinese leaders Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping.

CNTA data showed that red tourism sites in the country have received over four billion tourists during the past decade, with an annual 16-percent growth on average.