Visitors watch a Chinese calligraphy demonstration at the Tourism Promotion of Hangzhou in London on March 5. [Zhang Chunyan / China Daily]

Delegation luring international tourists with sights and sounds of scenic landscapes in Zhejiang

An old Chinese saying goes that "there is paradise in heaven, but there is Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth". Ken Livingstone, the British politician who served eight years as the mayor of London, agrees.

"It is one of the most beautiful cities on earth," Livingstone says of Hangzhou while meeting with a Zhejiang province delegation visiting London.

West Lake, the most well-known feature of Hangzhou, has scenery that "everyone will remember till their dying day," he says.

Indeed, the capital of Zhejiang province has long enjoyed the fame as one of the richest and most beautiful cities in China. It is one of the top travel destinations in the country, hosting 70 million Chinese tourists last year.

Hangzhou has bigger ambitions though. It aims for global exposure to attract more international tourists, such as Livingstone. It sent 41 people, headed by some of its top officials, overseas to promote itself as a destination for European tourists.

From March 3-14, the group is visiting some of the most famous European cities, including London, Berlin and Venice.

Europe is the second-largest source of tourists, next to the United States. Despite the economic recession and sovereign debt, the number of Europeans traveling to China is rapidly increasing.

The number of tourists visiting Hangzhou from Europe increased 17 percent year-on-year in 2011. The city hosted around 3 million foreign tourists last year, and 356,000 of them were from Europe.

The delegation is also here to make use of the marketing opportunities in Europe. One of the most attractive ones is the London Olympics.

"The coming Olympic Games in July, we believe, will make London again the center of worldwide attention," says Zhang Jianting, deputy mayor of Hangzhou and head of the delegation.

Hangzhou plans to show commercials advertising its features on Sky TV, the largest pay TV broadcaster in the United Kingdom. Ads will also appear on buses and taxis in London to make visitors to the city aware of Hangzhou.

The delegation is planning on attending the ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade show that expects nearly 170,000 visitors worldwide.

This is not the first time Hangzhou has tried to raise the awareness of Europeans. Last year, Zhang headed another delegation to Europe, promoting the city in the UK, France and Germany.

Also last year, some Italian artists were invited to draw the landscape of Hangzhou, and the artwork was later on display at St Mark's Square in Venice. And the first direct flight connecting Hangzhou with Amsterdam began last year.

Those efforts may "make West Lake comparable with the West End in London", says Cong Peiwu, counselor of the Chinese embassy in the UK.

Hangzhou does, indeed, have a lot of things to offer. The city, 45 minutes from Shanghai by train, has been an inspiration for painters and writers in China since the 9th century, with its poetic scenery such as orioles singing in the willows, lingering snow on a bridge and the Leifeng pagoda in the evening glow.

West Lake was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in June. The landscape, with its surrounding gardens, temples and pagodas, has influenced garden designs in Japan and South Korea, according to UNESCO. It reflects "an idealized fusion between humans and nature," the organization says on its website.

It is also the place where the Grand Canal, the world's largest and oldest artificial waterway, started.

It is home to some of the most successful Chinese companies, including auto manufacturer Geely that bought Volvo in 2010, and Alibaba.com, the world's largest e-commerce company.

It is undergoing modernization in terms of infrastructure, too. The city, with a total area of 16,600 square kilometers, has as many as 230 star-rated hotels, including 20 five-star hotels, Zhang says.

While many cities in China are promoting the ownership of private cars, Hangzhou has been learning from Amsterdam and London by offering public bicycles.

There are 60,600 public bikes all over the city, making it one of the best public bike share services in the world, along with Paris and London, according to a ranking by the BBC.

As the delegation visited London, they showcased the city's Eastern charms through promotional videos with traditional Chinese music in the background.

Activities at the event also highlighted the Oriental touch of the city, with demonstrations of calligraphy, a tea ceremony and Chinese musical instruments.

The group added a European touch to their presentation. Zhang, the deputy mayor, described in his opening remarks "a city that gave birth to the two best-known Chinese romances between Xu Xian and Lady White, and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet".

He also quoted Marco Polo, the Italian 13th century explorer, and in his speech characterized the city as "the most magnificent and dignified city in the world".

The promotion goes beyond the traditional channels of expos and TV and print advertising. Hangzhou is going to have an online campaign on Facebook, the world's largest social networking site, according to Jiang Jun, deputy division chief of Hangzhou Tourism Commission.

It is planning to create an online game on the platform with the theme "go to Hangzhou", according to Jiang.

It seems as those efforts have intrigued Livingstone.

"The amazing city built around the lake was stunning," he said, as he recalled his last visit in 2010 when he went with his two children.

"The food is also magnificient," he says.

"If I am elected the mayor, I will open an office of London in Hangzhou," says Livingsone, who is currently campaigning to be the next mayor of London.

"I look forward to going back as rapidly as possible," he adds.

diaoying@chinadaily.com.cn