Russia's Volgograd seeks to attract more Chinese tourists

Russia's south Volgograd region launched a program aimed at creating a friendly environment for Chinese visitors, the regional tourism development agency said Thursday.

The agency along with several other tourism organizations from the Southern Federal District held a conference titled " Intersection of Civilizations" to discuss how to render Volgograd a "China friendly" city to make tourists and business travelers from China feel comfortable during their visits.

The agenda listed the opening of commercial airlines between Volgograd and Chinese cities like Beijing and Urumqi via Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

The first flights are viable after a new international terminal in the Volgograd airport is to be put into use this fall.

The regional tourism development agency said that it has started to train up to 200 Russian-Chinese interpreters in cooperation with the local branch of Confucius Institute.

Russian regions in recent years have been enhancing links with China at both national and regional levels, as several Russian cities have established direct flight routes to China.

Volgograd is globally known for its role in the World War II when the city was named Stalingrad, and was granted the status of "Hero City" in Russia.

The city's main tourism attractions are connected to the wartime Battle of Stalingrad, which took place between July 17, 1942 and Feb. 2, 1943, and was considered the first substantial German land defeat of the war and one of the turning points.