The Mother of Learning

“It is always a pleasure to greet a friendfrom afar！” goes a famous Confucian saying.To facilitate more of these arrivialsof “friends from afar，” Beijing has beentaking a series of measures to pave the way forpeople-to-people exchanges.

The National Immigration Administration（NIA） announced on July 15 that China’s 144-hour visa-free transit policy was extended tothree more entry ports， bringing the numberof Chinese ports covered by the policy to 37 forcitizens of 54 countries. It is one of the recent"measures of China showing the broad goodwillnecessary to enhance people-to-people exchangewith the rest of the world.

Beginning on December 30， 2023， Beijing hasannounced 15-day visa-free travel for ordinarypassport holders from France， Germany， Italy，the Netherlands， Spain， and Malaysia. This policywill continue till November 30， 2024.

On March 7， 2024， the measure was extendedto include Switzerland， Ireland， Hungary， Austria，Belgium， and Luxembourg. Since then， ithas been extended twice more to include morecountries with the duration extended to December31， 2025. Parallelly， China has been enhancingtourism infrastructure and personnel by investingin travel guides， technological advances，and e-payment systems， plus further promotinginbound tourism， highlighting historical attractionsin partnership with Chinese companieslike Trip.com. The travel measures are especiallyimportant as China has been decisively contributingto the reboot of global tourism.

Meanwhile， several countries – particularlyin the West – could reciprocate since tourismis not just people happily criss-crossing theworld to explore new things for a certain numberof days， reinforcing prosperity， but one of"the mothers of learning between cultures andcivilizations.

A firsthand knowledge of a country inoculatesus against prejudices and stereotypes.Chinese tourists are famous because they traditionallytravel in large groups and splurge onshopping. Now they are also increasingly knownfor their deep interest in the cultures they visit，which is very important for peoples of differentcivilizations to strengthen their bond with eachother.

A recent case was the visit I hosted of a dozenstudents from Tsinghua University to Spain oneyear ago. It was the 10th anniversary of the Beltand Road Initiative （BRI） and the commemorationof the 110th anniversary of one of China’smost famous universities. Accordingly， I coorganizeda two-week tour for them.

They visited Spanish consultants， VIPs， andinstitutions， covering history （visits to the oldquarters of Madrid and Barcelona）; art （a visitto the Thyssen Museum and the Landscapeof Light， designated a World Heritage Site byUNESCO）; language （ familiarization with theSpanish language – the second most importantlanguage in the Western hemisphere – throughan introduction to the Spanish press）; and avisit to one of the Confucius Institutes. It alsocovered connectivity （a visit to the Abro?igalrailway terminal， which is the arrival point ofthe Yiwu-Madrid train， also known as the YixinouChina-Europe freight train and an essentialpart of the BRI）.

There was also time to discuss the key issueof energy （at the law firm of López-Ibor Mayorand Associates， specializing in internationalenergy laws）. Besides， the two-week tour foundspace for international relations （a visit to theoldest Spanish think tank， CIDOB， in Barcelona）.For business， I organized a visit to the IESEBusiness School in Barcelona. Finally， there wasalso time for institutional relations linking thetwo countries and continents for which I tookthem to visit the Asia House in Barcelona， apublic diplomacy institution supported by theSpanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and otherinstitutions， which contributes to Spanish-Asia"dialogue and to China-related programs.

Goodwill， long-term friendship， and the desireto constantly learn are fundamental elementsin human relationships. I particularly remembertwo unforgettable trips to China separated by a30-year time span that in retrospect helped me tobetter understand the sense of bilateral tourism.

In August 1987， I visited Chengde， the imperialsummer retreat of the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， less than 250 kilometers from Beijing. Themunicipal authorities proposed I play the role ofa tourist to promote the historical dimensionsof the city in a documentary film to be shownabroad. I learned two things during that fivedayexperience. One was that the city built in the18th century is one of the best examples of thecoexistence of multi-ethnic and cultural diversity"in their long exchange， convergence and synthesis，including Confucianism， Buddhism andTaoism. That legacy is expressed in the architecturalstyles in China's north and south. UNESCOhas described this special city as one which “haswitnessed the consolidation and development ofChina as a unitary multi-ethnic state.”

The second thing I learned was why UNESCOdecided 30 years ago to include Chengde on theWorld Heritage Site list， namely， for its ecologicalcomponent. Chengde’s original and comprehensiveplan in the early 18th century includedmountain resorts and outlying temples， followingthe topography of natural hills and water asfundamental parts of the city. Chengde embodieskey aspects of China’s foundations as a countryand civilization and at the same time showcases"how to reconnect with nature at a time whenevery country is building， rebuilding， preservingor adjusting its architecture and infrastructureto combat climate change.

Another experience I would like to highlighttook place seven years ago， in the YongnianDistrict of Handan City in Hebei Province. I hadthe privilege of visiting the former residenceof Yang Luchan （1799-1872）， a tai chi masterwho founded the Yang style. It is known that itsmeditative breathing techniques follow nature.These exercises inherently reinforce well-beingand health， and are recommended by doctors.This is something I knew since I lived in Chinain the second half of the 1980s.

But what I freshly learned on my 2017 tourcame from the conversation I was able to havewith the rector of Handan University， Professor MaJibin. He and his colleagues were deeply convincedthat if everyone practiced tai chi ， \"we would bebetter people，\" able to contribute to peace. Tai chibrings calmness and prudence， and would have animpact on world peace processes. For this reason，he said， Handan was engaged in a long-term planto establish agreements with universities in Westerncountries， Russia， the Middle East， and in theSouthern hemisphere to promote tai chi .

Of course， finding peace， both personally andcollectively， depends on multiple factors， includingrecovering ecological equilibrium. A culturaltourism scheme though offers a window of opportunityto assess all this and start thinking newideas or methodologies.

When we see wars that seem to have no endin sight， and countries where there are moreweapons than inhabitants， where citizens canbuy weapons as easily as they can buy aspirin;when we see violent attacks on presidentialcandidates or high-ranking officials， it is time toreflect. It is important to travel， to talk to otherpeople， to see precious traditions and kinds ofmodernities， and to learn languages long seenin the West or the East as belonging to “distantcultures.” In exchanges， we learn.

A word to the wise is enough