Fruits, sights and stars: 5-day Thai Festival starts in Kunming

The 5-day Thai Festival kicked off at the Dianchi tourist resort in Kunming, Yunnan Province on April 27, featuring a gallery of fruits, sights and stars from the ASEAN country. 

With the theme of "authentic Thailand," this year's event is held as one of the activities to mark the 25th anniversary of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Thailand in Kunming. 

"Thai food shows, cultural performances, and tourism promotions are staged at the festival to make Thailand better known to Chinese people, especially Yunnan tourists," said Nitivadee Manitkul, Consul General of Thailand in Kunming.

At the event, a diversity of Thai fruits are sold by vendors with zest, who also offered the WeChat and Alipay QR codes to Chinese buyers for online payment.

"Thanks to fast customs clearance, Thai fruits like durians, pineapples and coconuts, which are favored by Kunming locals, can reach Kunming in 5 to 8 days," said Nui, a Thai sales girl at the festival.

To attract more Chinese tourists to Thailand, four Thai policemen were invited to the event to boost confidence in  safety measures in the Thai tourism. The Thai policemen used Chinese to talk with Kunming locals, saying they are willing to help Chinese tourists in Thailand.

The Thai festival is also highlighted by Thai pop stars, who gave live performances, and a miniature of the Hua Hin Railway Station, which is turned into a tourist attraction in Thailand.

Reporting by Feng Yaxin, Liu Yanqin, Li Yuying and Chen Chuangye; trans-editing by Wang Shixue