Journalists from RCEP countries visit Huangshan Mountain in eastern China’s Anhui Province to appreciate the local nature and culture. 

RCEP journalists take a group photo before a unique Huangshan Mountain pine tree on June 10.

On June 10, celebrated as the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day in China, journalists from countries that are members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the largest trade bloc in the world, visited the Huangshan Mountain during the 2023 RCEP Local Governments and Friendship Cities Cooperation (Huangshan) Forum held on June 9-10. 

The Huangshan Mountain in eastern China’s Anhui Province is often called the most magnificent mountain range in China. As a famous Chinese saying goes, “You don’t want to visit other mountains after returning from Huangshan.”  

Due to its unique scenery, the mountain has been the subject of traditional Chinese paintings and poems since ancient times. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site as a cultural and natural heritage in 1990 and certified as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2004. 

For Khamphone Syvongxay from the Vientiane Times of Laos, it was his third visit to China and the first one to Anhui. Besides the fresh air, he said he was impressed by the “stories behind the stones and pine trees” and the cable cars.  

Flordeliza Agoo from the Philippine News Agency lauded the local green environment. “I come from a mountain city in the Philippines where we have mountains and a lot of pine trees, but the pine trees here are different as they grow on top of rocks,” she said. 

Chea Thyrith from BTV News, Cambodia told China Today “Huangshan Mountain has a clean environment and is surrounded by beautiful scenery, and the temperature is nice, not too hot, for climbing. Chinese tourists here are very friendly, and I love their way of enjoying life by walking in the mountain.” 

Chea Thyrith from BTV News Cambodia (right) is interviewed by China Today on Huangshan Mountain on June 10. 

Huangshan’s pines, which grow on all of its 72 peaks, are regarded as one of the four wonders of the range, the other three being strange-shaped rocks, clusters of clouds resembling the sea, and hot springs. An 800-year-old pine is a major tourist attraction, dubbed the “Greeting Pine” as its branches make it look like a hospitable host greeting visitors with outstretched arms. 

The Huangshan pines are the symbol of tenacity and the never-say-die spirit. The seeds take root in the cracks of the hard granite that forms the mountain, growing from rocks instead of soil. The roots create their own nourishment by decomposing the rocks into mineral salts. The rugged terrain and rough weather has given the pines unique and strange shapes to better endure storm and frost. 

“The mountain shapes are mind-blowing,” said Nattachar Kijmoke from Thai News Network. “You wonder how the trees can grow on rocks. I think they resemble people’s lives. We need to keep growing.” 

A fantastically shaped Huangshan pine dubbed “magic brush with a flower on the tip.” 

The Huangshan Mountain is part of Anhui’s rich tourism resources. With representatives from RCEP countries discussing cooperation in the cultural and tourism industry, the bloc anticipates more tourists in the future. 

According to official data, before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, over 2 million tourists from RCEP countries visited Anhui, and over half of Anhui’s nearly 5 million tourists traveled to RCEP countries. With the pandemic receding and cooperation deepening, the figure is expected to rise. 

Nattachar told China Today cooperation on culture and tourism would facilitate visits to the 15-member countries, each of whom have their own unique culture and attractions. “As tourism booms, the economy will be boosted,” she said.