A
CHINESE PARTNER MOUNTAIN FOR THE JUNGFRAUJOCH
The United Nations declared 2002 "The International
Year of the Mountains". To mark this occasion,
the Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai took
the initiative to partner the two regions Jungfraujoch-Top
of Europe with the Huangshan Mountain in China. The
Huangshan Region is a UNESCO World Heritage, as is
the Jungfrau-Aletsch Region. The partnership is growing.
High-ranking Chinese and Swiss delegations visited
their partner mountains
Both
the Jungfrau and the Mt. Huangshan have been listed
as UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites. The official
ceremony confirming the partnership took place in
the "Sphinx" hall, the highest point of
the Jungfrau. A delegation consisting of 23 members
of the provincial government of Anhui, PR China, visited
the Jungfrau for the signing of the official documents
on May 6, 2002. The delegation was lead by Anhui Provincial
Governor Mr. Xu Zhonglin. The document was signed
by Mr. Xu Liquan and Mr. Hu Xuefang for the Chinese
partners and on the Swiss side by Mrs. Elisabeth Zölch,
Director of the economic department of the Canton
of Bern and Dr. Krneta, Chairman of the board of Jungfrau
Railways. In their speeches, both the Governor and
Mrs. Zölch pointed out the importance of a partnership
in terms of touristic development.
A
Swiss delegation headed by Mr. Adolf Ogi, former President
of Switzerland, visited Huangshan from July 26 to
29 for the return signing ceremony and partnership
visit. The Anhui Governor, Mr. Xu Zhonglin and Mr.
Adolf Ogi both witnessed the agreement during an elaborate
ceremony on July 27, 2002.
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The
Swiss Ambassador to China Mr. Dominique Dreyer, the
Swiss Consul General in Shanghai, Mr. Hans Jakob Roth,
Mr. Xin Futan, Vice President of Chinese People's
Institute for foreign affairs and former Chinese Ambassador
in Switzerland also attended the celebration on Mt.
Huangshan.
Not
only on paper
However,
the signing of the partnership agreement was only
a first step towards a deeper cultural exchange between
the two regions. A gallery with pictures taken in
the region of Mt. Huangshan are already on public
display in the exhibition rooms on the Jungfrau. And
photos from the Jungfrau region are also shown in
Huangshan. Further projects will see the exchange
of students between Interlaken and Huangshan City
and the broadcasting of television advertisements
through local TV-Stations. Visitors to the two mountains
can also produce their own video-postcards on a specially
designed terminal, which they then can send to friends
through the web site www.sistermountains.com.
The
search for a partner
Jungfrau
Railways have been closely watching the development
of the Chinese touristic market for over ten years.
In 1997 active work towards a touristic development
started. The idea of searching for a suitable partner
in China dates back to 1999. Urs Kessler, Director
of Marketing & Operations of Jungfrau Railways
explains: "When we realised that Jungfrau would
soon be included in the list of the UNESCO World Natural
Heritages sites, we started to search for a partner
with equal characteristics. When the Consulate General
of Switzerland in Shanghai approached us with the
idea of partnering these two mountains, I was immediately
convinced of the choice. It was also important for
us that the partner mountain should be widely known
as a touristic attraction. Mt. Huangshan, which in
1990 was honored with the UNESCO certificate as a
"Natural Monument" and is also listed as
a World Natural Heritage Site, was really the ideal
partner for us."
The partnership is growing
This
partnership is steadily growing as several delegations
have visited their partner region and further projects
are maturing. In October 2003, a delegation led by
Interlaken Mayor Mr. André Morgenthaler visits
Huangshan. A letter of intent between Huangshan City
and Interlaken on establishing friendship relations
between the two cities is being signed on this occasion
between the Mayors of the two cities. The agreement
foresees exchanges in the fields of tourism, economy,
education, culture as well as in other fields. A program
of exchanges of high school students where Swiss and
Chinese students will visit each other's schools is
also in the making. A first delegation of Swiss high
school students just visited China in the early days
of October 2003. Huangshan and Jungfraujoch are also
actively co-operating in the field of tourism promotion
as each mountain is also promoting its sister-mountain.
Please
also consult Shanghai
Flash n° 6, August 2002
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