CHINA & CANADA’S THOUSAND ISLANDS MAKE PACT

China National Tourist Office facilitates friendship agreement between the Thousand Islands Lake in China and the Thousand Islands in Canada
 

An agreement, facilitated by the China National Tourist Office (CNTO) in Toronto, was recently signed linking the relationship between the Thousand Islands Lake in China and the Thousand Islands in Canada in Rockport, Leeds and Thousand Island, Ontario.

It was He Guangwei, the honorary chairman of China Tourism Association and former chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), as well as Ling Zhifeng, the mayor of Chun’an County, who led the delegation from China to sign the “Agreement of Friendship” with Mayor Frank Kinsella of Township of Leeds and Thousand Islands.

According to the CNTO, both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty offered their congratulations with respect to the signing ceremony and expressed their best wishes for the future success of the two Thousand Islands, as well as a long lasting friendship between Canada and China.

Present at the ceremony were: Lan Lijun, Chinese Ambassador to Canada; Zhu Taoying, Chinese General Consul in Toronto; Jim Prentice, Minister of Environment of Canada; Gord Brown, MP; Monique Smith, Minister of Tourism of Ontario; and Michael Chan, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of Ontario.

The proposed outcome of the Agreement of Friendship & Cooperation between the two communities is to form the “Canada – China Friendship Tourist Attractions”, which is proposed primarily by Gangxin Shan, Director of China National Tourist Office of Toronto. It is designed to establish a communication system for the mutual promotion of each tourist area, as well as promotes mutual exchanges between the communities.

The “Sino - Canada Friendship Trees” were planted during the ceremony – one is Canadian maple tree and another is Chinese ginkgo. The council of the Township of Leeds and Thousand Islands proclaimed September 13, 2009 as “Chinese Friendship Day.”