Tourist town gets major boost with global event

The Citroen car on show was once used for an expedition spanning 120,000 kilometers from France to China in 1931.[Photo by China Daily]

The wind blows away the clouds in a small city in Dunhuang in Northwest China's Gansu province, but it can't douse the passion of visitors swarming into three giant-tower-like buildings looking over rows of dunes, where the first Silk Road Dunhuang International Cultural Expo－the biggest cultural feast in this tourist city of less than 200,000 residents－is being held.

Long lines can be seen outside the entrance to the international exhibition space.

More than 60 countries and regions connected with the ancient Silk Road are presenting their art and cultural shows in the western wing of the three-tower complex, abou the size of an airport.

Sun Xiaonan, along with her 5-year-old son, is there to visit the expo for the second time on Sunday.

They spend a lot of time at the French exhibit taking photos of a miniature Eiffel Tower, examining a Citroen car that was used for an expedition spanning 120,000 kilometers from France to China in 1931, and admiring the antiques and oil paintings brought in from museums in France.

The mother, a local resident who spent 50 yuan for her ticket, says: "My friends and colleagues have all come to visit the expo with their families. It's very fresh and new for me－to understand the culture outside China."

She adds many of the visitors have also flown in from other cities in Gansu province to visit the expo.

The French pavilion is divided into four parts and covers art, culture, architecture and history.

Many visitors are attracted by a series of block paintings showing Chinese people as imagined by French artists planting mulberries, raising silkworms and weaving cloth.

The block paintings are from the Textile Museum and the Decorative and Arts Museum in Lyon, a place known for its silk industry since the 17th century.