16 foreign 'Xu Xiake' start Shanxi trip

The first group of foreign tourists recruited by Shanxi's promotion initiative "Shanxi in foreigners' eyes" arrived in the province on May 25.

Thanks to the joint organization of the province's tourism bureau and China Daily, the initiative plans to recruit 50 foreigners to one of three free Shanxi trips: one trip to Taihang Mountains, three World Cultural Heritages trip (the Ancient City of Pingyao, Mount Wutai and Yungang Grottoes) and the Yellow River Culture trip.

In return, foreign tourists record their travels and feelings and will be published in China Daily's newspapers, website and official accounts on social platforms such as weibo, wechat and Facebook. The applicants are required have good command of writing or photography. It aims to promote Shanxi's image as a land of splendors.

Launched in Taiyuan on March 25, the first group of 16 tourists, were selected from 500 applicants. They had a Taihang Mountains trip from May 26 to 28. They were called foreign "Xu Xiake" by local reporters, after a famous Chinese geographer and traveler during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), whose travels has significant value in geographic studies and literature.