Ten Years of Kinship, Deep Affection Between Two Regions; Cloud Silk Road Connects Hearts and Hands: Wenzhou-Golmud Air Route Opens, Launching 'Ten Thousand Tourists Travel to Haixi' Initiative

Ten years of kinship, deep affection between two regions; Cloud Silk Road connects hearts and hands. On the morning of March 30, the press conference for the opening of the 'Cloud Silk Road' Wenzhou-Golmud air route and the Charm of Haixi (Wenzhou) Eco-Tourism Promotion Conference were grandly held in Wenzhou. Leaders from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, Zhejiang Provincial Aid Qinghai Command, Wenzhou Municipal People's Government, Haixi Prefecture People's Government, Golmud Municipal Committee of the CPC, and Golmud Municipal People's Government, along with representatives from travel agencies in Zhejiang and Qinghai provinces, representatives from the Haixi Prefecture Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce and Golmud Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce, and media representatives—over 120 people in total—gathered by the Oujiang River to jointly witness the opening of the Wenzhou-Golmud air route. The 'Ten Thousand Tourists Travel to Haixi' customer source cooperation plan was officially launched at the meeting.

Chen Yingxu, Deputy Mayor of Wenzhou Municipal People's Government, delivered a speech at the meeting, extending a sincere welcome to the guests present. He said that the opening of the Wenzhou-Golmud stopover route is of great significance; it is the first fixed air route in Wenzhou's paired assistance regions, and its establishment has built an aerial bridge for the eleven-year brotherly bond of paired assistance between 'Zhejiang and Haixi, Wenzhou and Golmud.'

Jiang Weifeng, Standing Committee Member and Vice Governor of Haixi Prefecture, Secretary of the Party Committee and Commander of Zhejiang Aid Qinghai Command; Guo Faxiang, Deputy Director of Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism; and Zhao Wencai, Deputy Mayor of Golmud Municipal People's Government, and other leaders delivered speeches at the meeting.

The preferential policies for Wenzhou-Golmud aviation and the latest recruitment incentives for Golmud tourism were released on site. Yang Maofu, a Wenzhou aid Qinghai cadre and Standing Committee Member and Deputy Mayor of Golmud, introduced at the meeting that the Wenzhou-Golmud stopover route is a 'tourism road' that cultivates the customer source market of Zhejiang and Wenzhou, injecting vitality into Haixi and Golmud tourism; it is also an 'export road' for Haixi and Golmud agricultural products and Qaidam specialty agricultural products; and it is even more an 'industrial cooperation road' for Zhejiang and Wenzhou businessmen to enter Haixi and Golmud, bringing flows of people, goods, information, and capital to Haixi and Golmud.

Six boutique routes of Qinghai Haixi Golmud were released at the meeting: 'Great Beauty Qinghai North Line Tour, Great Beauty Qinghai South Line Tour, Qaidam Ring Tour, Gansu-Qinghai Grand Ring Silk Road Tour, Tianlu International Eco Self-Drive Tour, and Charm Haixi Photography Tour,' attracting the interest of many travel agencies.

A promotion representative from Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism extended a sincere invitation to Wenzhou citizens present. She introduced that Qinghai boasts ecological beauty, river beauty, folk beauty, and artistic beauty. The beauty of Qinghai represents the beauty of China, and Great Beauty Qinghai is a microcosm of Beautiful China. 'Heaven and earth have great beauty without speaking,' and this great beauty is reflected in the majestic, vigorous, and magical natural landscapes of the Qinghai Plateau, in the profound beauty of its long history, the blending beauty of ethnic cultures, and the harmonious beauty between humans and nature. This is the birthplace of China's mother rivers—the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang Rivers. With crystal glaciers, crisscrossing rivers, and scattered lakes, it is the most important water source in China, known as the 'Chinese Water Tower.' It nurtures more than half of China's population, supports the economic and social development of river basins, and has given birth to five thousand years of Chinese civilization.

Then, the host depicted the landscapes and scenic spots of Haixi and Golmud with a unique cultural tourism story: the mountains are the Kunlun Mountains, the ancestor of all mountains stretching thousands of miles; the waters include both the quietly flowing waters of the Yangtze River source, day and night, and the vast and abundant brine of Qarhan Salt Lake. Here, there are poplar forests known as 'living plant fossils,' the 'Holy Lake' Yao Chi of the Queen Mother of the West revered by Taoist followers; the globally rare 'Hoh Xil,' and the world's largest Yardang landform group, along with a range of other unique natural and cultural landscapes. If you yearn for Kunlun culture, go to the Kunlun Mountains for Taoist ancestor worship, visit Qarhan Salt Lake for sightseeing and adventure, explore the roof of the world for rock climbing, drive across the Gobi desert, and photograph and sketch the poplar forests in late autumn—embark on an unforgettable Haixi Golmud appointment!

Subsequently, the Wenzhou Federation of Trade Unions signed an agreement with Golmud for sending recuperation and vacation tourists; the Wenzhou Travel Agency Industry Association signed an agreement with Golmud Bureau of Culture and Tourism for sending tourists; representatives of Qinghai travel agencies signed cooperation agreements with representatives of Wenzhou travel agencies, kicking off the 'Ten Thousand Tourists Travel to Haixi' initiative.

At the same time, the Haixi Prefecture Eco-Tourism Promotion Center, Golmud Eco-Tourism Promotion Center, and Golmud Investment Promotion Office were established and licensed on site. Leaders from Haixi Prefecture and Golmud City awarded plaques to 20 Wenzhou-born entrepreneurs in Qinghai Haixi and Golmud, designating them as Haixi Prefecture Cultural Tourism Promotion Ambassadors and Golmud Cultural Tourism Promotion Ambassadors. Afterward, leaders faced the big screen and pressed their palm prints together; the screen burst into brilliant radiance, and the 'Ten Thousand Tourists Travel to Haixi' initiative was officially launched.

In 2010, Golmud and Wenzhou became paired assistance friendly cities. Over the past decade, the exchanges and cooperation between the two places have deepened, and their friendship has grown stronger, making them brother cities with frequent and close communication. Through multiple measures such as regular cultural exchanges, concrete intellectual assistance, and sustained industrial cooperation, Wenzhou's aid Qinghai work has brought the two places closer, building a solid community of ethnic unity. Wenzhou has continuously sent tourists to Golmud, boosting Golmud's tourism development. At the same time, Golmud has provided preferential policies for Wenzhou tourists, such as free admission to scenic spots and membership discounts at star-rated hotels. During the critical moment of epidemic prevention and control last year, Golmud organized a love convoy to send 510 tons of epidemic prevention materials to Wenzhou, making Wenzhou deeply feel the profound friendship from 3,300 kilometers away. The loving deeds and deep affection of 'Brother Golmud' became well-known in every household in Wenzhou.

'Golmud is a tourist destination I have always longed for. Now that the Wenzhou-Golmud air route is open, my trip to Golmud can be put on the agenda!' a citizen representative attending the meeting said excitedly.

At the meeting, representatives of the Wenzhou maiden voyage inspection group received the flag from leaders of Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, embarking on a journey to 'tour the vast Gobi and admire the majestic Kunlun Mountains.' The opening of the Wenzhou-Golmud route has greatly facilitated travel for citizens of both places, effectively shortening the time and distance between Wenzhou and Golmud, significantly improving travel efficiency and experience. It provides more travel options for tourists from both places while accelerating the industrial transformation and rapid development of tourism in both regions.

The opening of the Wenzhou-Golmud route has solved the bottleneck problem of external large transportation constraints restricting Golmud's tourism development. Golmud stated that in the future, it will continuously increase tourism promotion and marketing efforts, actively expand the customer source market, and focus on characteristic scenic spots, new business forms, market expansion, boutique routes, and tourist charter flights (special trains) to strengthen Golmud's cultural tourism industry, expand the city's visibility and influence, attract more citizens from the Yangtze River Delta cities to visit, shop, and consume in Golmud, and cultivate the cultural tourism industry into an important strategic pillar industry of Golmud.