China's Thousand Islands Lake in Hangzhou's Chun'an County

Thousand Islands of Canada and Thousand Islands Lake of China, both beautiful tourist attractions with the same name, have joined hands across the ocean with the signing of a friendship and cooperation agreement.

The two world-renowned tourist destinations will share resources as they try to attract more visitors while ensuring a sustainable environment.

Under the agreement, local tourism departments will meet regularly for mutual promotion of products and share information and experiences in managing and protecting their environment.

The agreement was signed by Frank Kinsella, mayor of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Ontario, and Ling Zhifeng, mayor of Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province, where the Thousand Islands Lake is located.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper applauded the agreement, saying it "celebrates the many benefits of partnering at the community level between Canada and China, which enjoy a growing friendship that is resulting in burgeoning cultural and trade opportunities throughout our two nations."

In a message, he also expressed the belief that "tourism, cultural exchanges and numerous joint projects will result from this initiative and, undoubtedly, both communities will realize new opportunities."

Chinese ambassador Lan Lijun, Canadian Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice, Federal Parliament Member Gord Brown and provincial officials were present at the ceremony, which took place on a cruise boat on the Thousand Islands, Canada.

"It is very significant to build a kind of connection between the two major tourist attractions with the same name in our two countries," Lan says in a speech.

"Thanks to our joint efforts, we would be able to promote not only tourism and economic cooperation, but also mutual understanding and friendly exchanges between our two peoples, thus making contributions to the overall development of the relations between our two countries," the ambassador says.

Prentice praised the initiative as an important measure in deepening environmental cooperation between the two countries.

Both attractions are very important ecological sites for their countries and both governments are making all efforts to take good care of them, he says, adding the cooperation agreement will ensure a better management of these natural treasures.

He Guangwei, honorary chairman of the China Tourism Association and former director of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), initiated the agreement a few years ago. He was granted the title of "honorary citizen of Leeds and Thousand Islands Canada," together with Ling at the ceremony. Frank Kinsella was named "honorary citizen" of Chun'an.