On May 29, the"International Mountain Tourism Day 2025" Theme Events kicked off on Gran Canaria, Spain. With the theme "Embracing Mountains and Seas, Coexisting with Cultures — Mountain Tourism and Cultural Inclusiveness for the Future," the event brought together representatives from international organizations, government officials, industry leaders, experts, scholars, and media worldwide to explore inclusive collaboration and shared development in global mountain tourism. The program included an opening ceremony, thematic forums, mountain cultural exchange sessions, a China-Spain cultural tourism exhibition, and the "Gran Canaria Night" welcome dinner. Participants engaged in diverse formats to share advanced concepts, discuss cutting-edge issues, and deepen practical cooperation. Mr. Song Xiaolu, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director (at the director level) of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guizhou Province, China, delivered a speech at the "Exchange and Sharing Session of Mountain Culture and Tourism".

The full text of the speech is as follows:

Today, I am very pleased to gather with you on the beautiful Gran Canaria Island in Spain to share with you the beauty of cultural tourism in mountainous Guizhou. On behalf of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guizhou Province of the People's Republic of China, I would like to extend my most sincere greetings to all distinguished guests!

I. Mountain Park, Amazing the World

Guizhou is located in the southwest of China, with a total land area of 176,000 square kilometers, 92.5% of which is mountainous. It is the region with the most fully developed karst landforms in the world. Canyons, karst caves, waterfalls and hot springs can be found all over the province.

The unique geological structure has created unparalleled cave wonders in Guizhou. Zhijin Cave in Guizhou is known as "China's Most Beautiful Tourist Cave" for its grand scale and magnificent stalactite landscapes. Suiyang Shuanghe Cave is the longest cave in Asia, with stunning underground karst landscapes. The Getu River cave system presents a unique "cave-river-sinkhole" ecological wonder under karst landforms.

Fanjing Mountain (Photographed by Bai Jiangping)

There are 4 world natural heritage sites in Guizhou, namely Libo Maolan, Chishui Danxia, Shibing Yuntai Mountain and Jiangkou Fanjing Mountain, ranking first in China. It also nurtures world-class landscapes such as Huangguoshu Waterfall and Maling River Canyon.

Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou (Source: iBaotu)

The province has 9,042 kilometers of expressways passing through the "mountains where there is not three feet of flat land", with 28,000 bridges built. Nearly half of the world's top 100 highest bridges are in Guizhou. Baling River Bridge, Beipan River First Bridge, Pingtang Grand Bridge and others have become living specimens of the "Bridge Museum", demonstrating the wisdom of human dialogue with mountains.

High Bridges in Guizhou (Photographed by Liu Xiaodong)

The world's largest single-aperture radio telescope "China's Tianyan (FAST)" is hidden in a karst depression. While exploring the universe, it has become a global landmark for "astronomy + ecology" tourism.

China's Tianyan (FAST) (Source: Department of Culture and Tourism of Guizhou Province)

Guizhou is a globally renowned "paradise for outdoor sports". With more than 330 days a year suitable for outdoor activities, it is perfect for marathons, paragliding, rock climbing, caving, low-altitude flying, high-bridge bungee jumping and other outdoor sports, allowing people to feel the extreme charm of mountain sports all year round.

Cave Climbing (Source: Department of Culture and Tourism of Guizhou Province)

II. Colorful Customs, Enchanting the World

Guizhou is one of the provinces with the richest ethnic minority cultures in China. 17 indigenous ethnic groups have created vivid cultural treasures here. The Miao people have a tradition that "those who can speak can sing, and those who can walk can dance". The Kam Grand Chorus we enjoyed yesterday is a representative work of human intangible cultural heritage. It is known as "the sound of nature" for its multi-part, unconducted and a cappella natural chorus form.

Guizhou Performers Performing Kam Grand Chorus at "Night of Gran Canaria" Welcome Dinner (Source: International Mountain Tourism Alliance)

Guizhou is known as "a sea of festivals". There are more than 1,400 traditional ethnic festivals, forming a "365-day non-stop cultural carnival".

Sea of Clouds over Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village (Photographed by Yuan Jiali)

Guizhou has 757 traditional Chinese villages and 312 Chinese ethnic minority characteristic villages, both ranking among the top in China. These villages retain the original ecological rural life. Here, there is Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, the largest Miao village in the world, and Zhaoxing Dong Village, one of the largest Dong villages in China. There are also vibrant "Village BA" and "Village Super", which combine the world-popular sports of football and basketball with local unique ethnic cultures, forming a奇观 with billions of views. Guizhou is also the hometown of Maotai, one of the world's three major distilled spirits, and is the best travel destination for the integration of wine and tourism.

III. Beautiful in All Seasons, Enjoyable Across the Entire Region

Guizhou has a subtropical monsoon climate, with distinct four seasons. It is not cold in winter and not hot in summer. The forest coverage rate reaches 63.3%, and the average proportion of days with good air quality in 9 central cities reaches 98.6%. The ultraviolet radiation is low, and the concentration of negative ions, known as "air vitamins", is very high.

In spring, Guizhou is an oriental wonderland full of blooming flowers. "Gui'an Ten-Thousand-Mu Cherry Garden" and "Baili Azalea" leave the most beautiful moments for people in this spring.

Spring in Guizhou (Photographed by Yuan Jiali and Wang Xiao)

The average temperature in summer is 23℃. Cattle and sheep graze leisurely on Wumeng Grassland, water mist blowing from Huangguoshu Waterfall, and Anshun Longgong is colorful... It is one of the coolest regions at the same latitude in the world.

Wumeng Grassland (Photographed by Yuan Jiali)

In autumn, the golden fields in Guizhou set off beautifully against the karst landforms. The fragrance of rice fills Xingyi Wanfenglin, and in Jiabang fields in Qiandongnan, the rice is fragrant and the fish are fat, presenting a charming harvest scene. In winter, Guizhou not only has Liupanshui, known as the "Snow and Ice City in the South", with rime hidden in the deep mountains, but also the warmth of 25° north latitude to dispel the cold. Rapeseed flowers in Wanfenglin bloom quietly, and the hot springs in Shiqian, Tongren are steaming. Every season is like a poem or a painting.

Skiing in Liupanshui (Source: Department of Culture and Tourism of Guizhou Province)

The International Mountain Tourism Alliance, initiated by Guizhou Province, was established in August 2017 with the approval of the State Council of China. It is the world's first international organization themed on mountain tourism. We look forward to taking the International Mountain Tourism Alliance as a platform to deepen exchanges and cooperation between Spain and Guizhou, and learn from each other's successful experiences. The 2025 International Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports Conference will be held in Guizhou in late September this year, and we welcome you all to attend the conference in Guizhou.

Headquarters of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance

We will continue to optimize the incentive policies for inbound tourism, jointly explore domestic and foreign tourist source markets, and provide convenient and efficient visa, consumption payment and travel services to ensure you a worry-free journey.

Finally, I would like to invite you with a Miao proverb from Guizhou: "No matter how far the road is, the fragrance of wine will lead you here; no matter how high the mountain is, the singing will invite you up." We look forward to working with the Spanish tourism industry to let more friends appreciate the "mountain miracle" of Guizhou!

Source: IMTA

Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen

Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang

Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong