Photo exhibition on Beijing debuts in Washington DC

A photo exhibition showing brilliant heritages and beautiful sceneries of Beijing, China's capital, was staged on Tuesday at the main hall of the Union Station of Washington D.C., a main traffic hub in the U.S. northeast corridor.

The exhibition called Charming Beijing, which will last for four days, was held by the Beijing municipal government to celebrate "China-U.S. Tourism Year" and to introduce Beijing's tourist attractions to local people.

"China and the United States have good cooperation in developing tourism. Holding 'China-U.S. Tourism Year' gives a strong push for Chinese local governments to introduce their tourist attractions in the United States," said Wang Yue, vice chairwoman of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development (BMCTD).

The United States has become the largest foreign tourist source for Beijing in recent years. Over 800,000 U.S. visitors come to Beijing every year, about one fifth of the total foreign tourists received in Beijing.

Wang expected to see "further breakthrough" in the number of the U.S. tourists in Beijing in the future.

Wang's enthusiasm was shared by her counterpart of Washington D.C., Beijing's U.S. sister city since 1984.

"This has been fantastic," said Theresa Belpulsi, vice president of Tourism of Washington D.C., talking about Tuesday's event.

"We are very excited these photos are absolutely exquisite. We are very excited again just another event that really highlights the culture and the friendship that we have between Washington D.C. and Beijing," said Belpulsi.

This year marks the U.S.-China Tourism Year, one of the results of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States last September.

Governments from both sides have launched a series of measures to boost tourism. Now, China is the fourth largest international source of visitors to the United States, while the latter has become the third largest international source of visitors to China. Endi