Dear friends,

Good morning.

Thank you all for coming. It’s very cold outdoor, but I feel very warm here.

Today is the tenth day of the year 2024. Happy New Year to you all!

Welcome to the Vakantiebeurs! （假日旅游展）

Welcome to our pavilion -- Ni Hao （你好）China.

This event is about tourism promotion. So, let me first ask, in a Dutch direct way: have you been to China, as a tourist, or a business person, or a student?  

If you haven’t, then do it. It is a shame not to visit this beautiful land and meet the amazing people.

If you have, then do it again. The more the merrier. 

China is a big country, 1.4 billion people, large in size, long in history, diverse in culture. You will definitely see many new things each time you visit.

High mountains in the west, flat land in the east.

You can go to the snow and ice festival right now being held in the north city of Harbin, or enjoy the sea and sand, be basked in the warm sun in the southern island of Hainan.

So many natural and cultural wonders, world heritages, like the Great Wall, Palace Museum, terracotta warriors and horses, folk music and traditional drama like Peking Opera.

Some tips for visitors to China.

Tip one: enjoy the Chinese cuisines.

East and west, Chinese food is the best.

There are a variety of cuisines in China, many regional variations, because of the different ingredients as the soil, climate, natural blessings are different, because of different taste of people in different regions.  

Spicy in the west; a bit sweet in the east; hot pot in the north; slow-cooked soup in the south; mountain delicacies in the west and north; river and sea food in the east and south.   

Tip two: try the the high-speed rail.

Over the past decade, China has built 44,000 km of dedicated high-speed railway, the speed is 350  kilometers per hour.

It takes a bit over 4 hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai, the two largest cities in China, covering the distance of about 1400 km, which equals that from the Netherlands to Poland.

The benefits of high-speed train over planes are many: trains stations are inside the city and convenient to reach, much less time on security check; puncture departure and arrival. Besides, you can move more freely and see beautiful scenes outside.

Not to mention that high-speed rail is much more environment-friendly: deep cuts in pollution, fossil fuel use and noise.

Dear friends,

I can’t bring Chinese chefs and cooks here, nor lovely pandas.

Yet we have this beautiful Pavilion, which may give you a taste of the Chinese culture. I wish to thank those for setting up the pavilion.

Allow me to highlight, first, the architecture. The Begonia Gate, the screen, vermilion colonnade. Very Chinese.

Secondly, the painting on the screen, by a famous artist 1,000 years ago, depicting with strong passion the beauty of mountains, rivers, villages, fishing boats, bridges, birds, in a neat and meticulous way. Harmony between nature and life.

This is a copy, you can see the original painting at the Palace Museum in Beijing.  

And you are kindly invited to visit China.

As ambassador, it is my firm belief that amity among peoples holds the key to sound state-to-state relations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

To show our sincerity,  we have introduced a new policy that, starting from December 1 of 2023, Dutch citizens holding ordinary passports who come to China for business, tourist, visiting relatives and friends, and transit reasons, will be exempted from visa to enter into China, for a stay within 15 days.

Yeah, visa free to China.

This arrangement is for a few countries including the Netherlands, because of our good bilateral relations, a lot of business, and because we know going global is in the blood of the Dutch people, as proved by history.

And now travel is easy. Every week there are 36 flights between the Netherlands and China.

The Spring Festival is just around the corner, on the 10th of February, ringing in the lunar year of dragon.  

You may go to China to experience and enjoy the most important festival of the Chinese, fireworks, firecrackers and lanterns lighting the night sky, folk drama and arts on display in temple fairs.  A lot of sights and sounds -- and excitements.

You will, I am sure, have a good time in China.

So, book a ticket, visit China, and prove I am right!

Thank you!