STORY: China opens pavilion at Dutch holiday fair 
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 10, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 12, 2024
LENGTH: 00:04:00
LOCATION: UTRECHT, the Netherlands
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the exhibition
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEROEN VAN HOOFF, CEO of the Dutch trade show and exhibition company Royal Jaarbeurs
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): RON KELLER, Former Dutch ambassador to China
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): GABRIELLA ESSELBRUGGE, Entrepreneur and Dutch tourism promoter
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): WANG ZHENG, Director of the China Cultural Center in Den Haag

STORYLINE:

A Chinese pavilion opened to the public at the 2024 Dutch Holiday Fair (Vakantiebeurs 2024) in Utrecht on Thursday.
   
Adorned with Chinese elements such as a begonia gate, screens depicting an ancient painting and vermilion colonnade, the pavilion is also decorated with the "Hello! China" national tourism brand.
   
Covering an area of 100 square meters, the pavilion houses exhibitors from the fields of tourism, aviation and visa services.
   
Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands Tan Jian told the opening ceremony of the Chinese pavilion on Wednesday that China has recently introduced a visa-free policy for Dutch citizens.
   
"Now travel is easy. Every week there are 36 flights between the Netherlands and China," he said.
   
China boasts not only delicious food, but also high-speed rail and rich culture, Tan underlined.
   
"Over the past decade, China has built 44,000 km of dedicated high-speed railway, the speed is 350 kilometers per hour," he said.
   
Jeroen van Hooff, CEO of the Dutch trade show and exhibition company Royal Jaarbeurs, said that he was happy to be at the Chinese pavilion because it is the first time in many years that China is attending the Dutch Holiday Fair.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEROEN VAN HOOFF, CEO of the Dutch trade show and exhibition company Royal Jaarbeurs
"Here I'm at the Chinese pavilion. I'm very happy to be here because it's the first time that China is representing now after many years for Vakantiebeurs, especially for us because we have a strong relationship with China as well. We are also having some trade fairs over there. So it's a very special connection that we have. And personally, I love to be in China. I travel a lot to China. And it's also very nice to see and also to bring those visitors here that it is easier to travel to China. I think it was the first of December that the travel policy reduced the visa rules."

Meanwhile, former Dutch ambassador to China Ron Keller told Xinhua that he felt honored to be present at the opening of the beautiful Chinese pavilion.
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): RON KELLER, Former Dutch ambassador to China
"As former Dutch ambassador to China, I'm very honored to be here at the holiday fair in celebrating the opening of a beautiful pavilion of China, welcoming Dutch people and basically all Europeans that are willing to come to China. Visa-free nowadays from the Netherlands and China has so much to offer to interested Dutch people and there are a lot of people interested in other cultures. I see so many Dutch people traveling to China and China is certainly worth a visit I should say. So, visit China and enjoy and celebrate its culture and our cooperation."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): GABRIELLA ESSELBRUGGE, Entrepreneur and Dutch tourism promoter
"Next week I'm going to Jiangsu (province in east China). I first go to Nanjing. And then I go to Yancheng. And then I go to Suzhou. It's a very beautiful picture of Suzhou. I love the Suzhou gardens. And actually, everything in China is like very much linked to water and I'm from a village with a lot of water. The only thing we miss that I can find in China, like Huangshan, the Yellow Mountains, and also like the very beautiful south Taihang Mountains, that combination is amazing. So I'm a little bit jealous of China. Of course, for Chinese cuisine, because if I travel to China, I'm always like, I'm already detoxing a little bit to eat more when I go to China. I go Monday to China already. So I'm looking forward to going there."
   
SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): WANG ZHENG, Director of the China Cultural Center in Den Haag
"I hope that through this exhibition, exhibitors from other countries and regions will learn more about the huge potential of the Chinese tourism market, and promote exchanges between Chinese and foreign tourism industry players." 
   
This year marks the 53rd edition of the Dutch Holiday Fair, which was first held in 1970, and has since become the largest holiday-themed travel trade show for industry players in the Netherlands.
   
According to the organizers, more than 1,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries and regions are expected to participate in the fair, which will last from Wednesday to Sunday. Over 110,000 people are set to attend.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Utrecht, the Netherlands.
(XHTV)