With only days remaining before India implements its e-Visa scheme for Chinese tourists, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh made a strong pitch to woo travellers from China with lucrative packages and their age-old spice, martial arts links besides natural beauty steeped in local culture.

With a well laid out publicity network, Kerala made a big show at special evening for Chinese media and travel writers in Beijing by organising a fusion performance which combines its ancient martial art ‘Kalaripayattu’ with China’s Shaolin temple, whose early roots stretches to the South Indian state.

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Six performers of ‘Kalaripayattu’ joined hands with Shaolin experts highlighting similarities between two traditional art forms at a dazzling gathering organised by the Indian Embassy in Beijing.

K Sunilkumar Gurukkal, who had featured in movies alongside Hollywood’s Kung Fu star Jackie Chan, headed ‘Kalaripayattu’ team. Kathakali dance form was also displayed. Kerala’s Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar headed a delegation to China that included state Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson and Tourism Secretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao.

Anilkumar said the fusion of ‘Kalaripayattu’ and Shaolin showed that Kerala and China have a lot in common, reminding the Chinese the adventure travels undertaken by China’s marine adventure traveller Zheng He to Kerala few hundred years ago.

The state still has China’s imprints like the Chinese fishing nets dotting the coast line of Kochi, which has became a major landmark for tourists. Even though Kerala attracted over a million foreign tourists last year, Chinese accounted for little over 4,000.

Andhra Pradesh, which caught the eye of Chinese investors after the April visit of its Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, is also making an effort to attract Chinese tourists showcasing its amenities like the 974 km long coastline of Visakhapatnam as well as Buddhist centres like Amaravathi which too had ancient links with China.

According to Le Yucheng, Chinese Ambassador to India, Andhra Pradesh is becoming a centre for Chinese investments, specially the Kakinada Port.

 

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