KUNMING, China -
The Dai Autonomous Prefecture of
Xishuangbanna in southwestern China's Yunnan province has
signed an agreement with Laos on cross-border tourism
cooperation involving the Louang Phrabang heritage site.
According to the agreement, visitors from both
countries will be allowed to tour the two picturesque
places as long as they contact a designated travel
agency.
Xishuangbanna, in the lower reaches of
the Lancang River, is an area rich in vegetation with a
wide variety of plants growing all year around. It
contains 240,000 hectares of nature reserves covered in
tropical and monsoon rain forests, 47,000 hectares of
which are virgin forests.
Louang Phrabang is an
ancient capital in central Laos, listed as a world
heritage site by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The
agreement would help to boost bilateral exchanges and
cooperation in terms of border travel, said Li Qingyou,
director of the Xishuangbanna Tourism Bureau.
The two regions will hold a joint meeting on
tourism development twice a year and cooperate in
training tourist guides and hotel managers, and
developing souvenirs.
