Recently made agreements between Turkey and China have accelerated the promotional activities.

A cooperation meeting was held to create value added for tourism promotion activities between the two countries under the leadership of Yunus Emre Institute and the Chinese province of Anhui.

Anhui Province and Yunus Emre Institute Tourism Promotion and Cooperation Meeting was conducted at Polat Rönesans Bosphorus-Beşiktaş with the participation of Istanbul Deputy Governor İsmail Gültekin, Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref ATEŞ, Anhui Province Governor Mr. Yang Guangronng, Anhui Tourism Development Office Chairman Mr. Wan Yixue, Huangshan Tourism Agency Director General Mr. Zhang Dehui, Hefei Deputy Mayor Mrs. Wu Chunmei and Chaohu Mayor Mr. Zhang Sheng, İstanbul Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Dr. Coşkun Yılmaz, İzmir Chamber of Commerce Executive Board Member Ahmet Oğuz Özkardeş, and Kuşadası Mayor Özer Kayalı.

Istanbul Deputy Governor İsmail Gültekin delivered the keynote speech, drawing attention to the fact that Istanbul was a major destination on the historical Silk Road and is located at the crossroads. Noting that Turkey has strong, deep-running and historical ties with China both via land and marine transportation, Gültekin indicated that the road map of cooperation between the two countries has been formulated during the talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Here in Istanbul, we are working on the plans for this cooperation. Istanbul is located at a strategic position regarding the 'One Belt, One Road' project," he said.

In his speech, Anhui Province Governor Mr. Yang Guangronng noted that 2018 had been declared as Turkey Tourism Year in China. He underlined that Istanbul, bridging Europe and Asia, has a long history and rich culture. "With a population of 80 million, Anhui, located in eastern China, has a very dynamic economy. The Turkish and Chinese relations are well-established thanks to the historical Silk Road. The Silk Road, connecting Turkey and China, between the East and the West, has the traces of our ancestors. We hope to advance our cooperation with deeper ties in this context.  A new journey begins. It is a journey not only of cooperation, but also of spirit," Governor Yang Guangronng said.

The president of Yunus Emre Institute, Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, reminded that an agreement was reached on the improvement of good relations within the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" project, which had been kicked off during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to China. He indicated that Yunus Emre Institute had made considerable progress on this matter in the activities that had been conducting for a year.

"In the past, the Silk Road would connect China and Turkey through trade. Today, there is a bigger project: 'One Belt, One Road'. This project not only concerns 65 countries, but also will be of concern to other countries. Due to its strategic location, Turkey needs to assume a key role in this project. It is possible to reach more than 100 countries in just three hours from Turkey. Therefore, the contact between the East and the West is mediated through this country. Yunus Emre Institute is active in more than 60 countries around the globe. With these activities, we are working to bring diverse communities together, improve cooperation among them and enhance Turkey's recognition everywhere around the world. As our Culture Minister announced as a target, our purpose is to ensure that 1 million tourists from China visit Turkey annually. We are taking these steps in order to increase the number of tourists from China to Turkey and vice versa," he said.

Yidian company, with 700 million users, thank Yunus Emre Institute for its activities

Institute President Prof. Dr. Ateş also touched on the "Be Our Guest" project, which has been carried out by the Institute for the last two years. "Under this project, we have hosted various Chinese media members as well as Chinese opinion leaders and celebrities in Turkey to promote Turkey in China. The efforts to promote Turkey in China are starting to pay off. An official from the Chinese Yidian company, with 700 million users, stated that the province of Anhui will send at least two Chinese groups every month to Turkey, and he conveyed their thanks to our Institute," he said.

Anhui Province and Yunus Emre Institute Tourism Promotion and Cooperation Meeting continued with the signing ceremony. With the deals made, the promotional activities between Turkey and China were kicked off officially.