A delegation of Shanxi tourism officials promoted Shanxi's scenic spots during a visit to Russia during local time June 22-23.

The two day event which promoted the Shanxi province in Moscow and St. Petersburg was headed by the director of Shanxi Tourism Bureau, along with municipal Party secretaries and mayors of 11 cities who, respectively, introduced local tourism resources.

Feng Jianping, the head of Shanxi Tourism Bureau, introduces Shanxi’s tourism resources during a tourist promotion in Russia, on June 22-23 local time. [Photo/sx.xinhuanet.com]

"Russia and China are geographically close with long history of friendly communications," Feng Jianping, the head of Shanxi Tourism Bureau, said.?" Shanxi has served as an imported point along the international trade routes- the land Silk Road and the Sino-Russian Tea Road, or the 10 thousand li (5,000 kilometers) of tea road."

The Sino-Russian Tea Road once was a way to transport tea from the Fujian province to Mongolia and Russia.

As an inland province in China well known for its coal nationwide and around the world, the Shanxi province is now building itself a new image as a Chinese historical and cultural tourism destination through industrial structural adjustment and transformation and upgrade.

A nameplate unveiling ceremony of a Shanxi tourist products retail store in Russia is held during the promotion. [Photo/sx.xinhuanet.com]

Shanxi boasts a close relationship with China's two globally remarkable cultural signs: the Great Wall, which winds through the northwest Shanxi province, and the Yellow River, the mother river of Chinese civilization, Feng Jianping said.

He noted the province in North China is also the major birthplace of Chinese civilization and has cultivated brilliant cultures, including the ancient buildings and religious culture in the northern part of the Shanxi province, the Jin Merchant culture in middle Shanxi and the ancestor worship culture in southern area of the province.

In 2015, Shanxi received 848,000 international tourists, indicating the province has become one of the most favorable tourist destinations in the world.

The local annual international tourist events, such as an international photography exhibition in Pingyao, a cultural tourist festival in Yuncheng city with a theme of Guan Yu (a famous historical figure in the Three Kingdoms period), and the Wutai Mountain international tourist event, continue to attract large numbers of visitors to the province.

Shanxi has also increased tourist cooperation in recent years with Russia in tourist promotions and conducting cooperation among travel agencies of both countries. On June 21 (Beijing time), a direct tourist charter flight from Taiyuan to Moscow opened, which highly increases the convenience for tourists looking to travel to Russia.