China News Service, Kunming, February 13th: Dutch travelers show China’s heritage to the world
Author Luo Jie
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the Dutch family living in China joined the "Spring Festival Transport" and embarked on a journey back to the Netherlands. During the Spring Festival, he was pleasantly surprised to receive Chinese blessings from Dutch friends. "Now many Dutch people say 'Happy Spring Festival' in Chinese. The Spring Festival is becoming more and more popular overseas."
Leonard is from Rotterdam, a port city in the Netherlands. Twelve years ago, he and his wife settled in her hometown of Kunming, Yunnan, surrounded by mountains. From a traveler to a tourism practitioner, he took tourists from all over the world to explore ancient and mysterious China.
Leonard's love for China began in childhood. "In my favorite cartoon "The Avatar", there are often Chinese characters, martial arts moves, five elements and other traditional Chinese culture that fill the screen." When he was young, he drew unintelligible Chinese characters on the wall and built a picture in his mind. A China full of mystery.
On January 11, Leonard told the story of foreigners visiting China on the photo wall. Photo by China News Service reporter Li Jiaxian
When he first arrived in China, Leonard started in Beijing and traveled all the way south to Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities. He discovered that this was a common route that most foreigners took when visiting China. "Nowadays, everyone knows how developed China's first-tier cities are, but many people don't know that there is a secret place in Yunnan on the southwest border."
When talking about the beauty of Yunnan, Leonard talks about the beauty of Yunnan. He believes that the most attractive thing is not only the natural scenery, but also the human history. Why does the "mythical beast" tile cat on the roof of Yunnan's houses have a unique shape? What kind of Lijiang Naxi culture is hidden in Dongba characters? How can multiple ethnic groups and religions coexist harmoniously here? After frequent exchanges with local tour guides, Leonard became more convinced that exploring these "secrets" of Yunnan will attract more attention from overseas tourists.
In 2011, Leonard founded the cultural tourism company "Biduan Tourism". "We have set up offices in the Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany to build tourism brands such as 'China Miracle', 'Yunnan Miracle' and 'Guizhou Miracle'. Over the past ten years, we have created tourist routes for tourists from more than 60 countries and regions. Provide cultural and tourism services,” he said.
"The three-year epidemic has had a huge impact on the offline tourism industry." For this reason, Leonard turned his attention to the Internet in 2023 and took on a new identity - a self-media blogger. "Friends from the Netherlands are particularly curious about Chinese life, tourism, culture and other aspects. Through short videos, more foreigners can understand China in my eyes."
In Leonard's YouTube channel, netizens from all over the world marveled at the unique food culture of Yunnan's "fungus-eating season", learned about the development of local dialects in Yunnan, and explored the cultural connotation behind the Chinese people's "food is their first priority". Leonard said, "I don't want foreigners to praise China's 'traffic code'. I want to tell Chinese stories with more depth and cultural heritage."
On February 7, Leonard went to the New Year Shopping Street to buy New Year flowers. Photo by China News Service reporter Li Jiaxian
Speaking of the Spring Festival, Leonard recalled, "The first time I celebrated the Spring Festival was in a village in Yunnan. I had a New Year's Eve dinner with more than 200 people. My enthusiastic Yunnan friends pulled me to sing and dance together. It was so lively."
Nowadays, the Spring Festival has become a United Nations holiday. Leonard has seen that many cities in the Netherlands are holding Spring Festival activities. People meet to have Chinese food to celebrate, and more and more people are sharing the Spring Festival culture. "This time when we return to the Netherlands, our whole family will also have a reunion dinner."
In the future, Leonard will travel between the Netherlands and China to expand more tourism resources. On the other hand, he saw that after the opening of the China-Laos railway, more and more tourists from Southeast Asian countries such as Laos and Singapore came to China. "We will develop more tourism products to allow tourists from more countries to experience China and understand China." (End)