OSAKA - A special presentation event titled " China World Heritage Tourism Workshop" to introduce a number of the country's rich cultural, historical and natural treasures was held Tuesday in Osaka, western Japan, attracting more than 150 participants from Japan and China.

The event, held in Osaka International Convention Center, was organized by China National Tourism Administration in cooperation with Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka and Japan's Kinki District Transport Bureau.

In the event hall, China's nine provinces and Chongqing Municipality which have UNESCO World Heritage sites gathered to display places worth visiting or promote sightseeing routes, offering colorful brochures, posters, detailed maps or DVDs containing wonderful images of their traveling spots.

During the workshop many from local travel agencies and tour operators visited each displayer's booth to seek business matching partners in China.

Following the business session, all participants were invited to a friendship reception, held in a nearby hotel, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the normalization of the China-Japan diplomatic relations.

Li Renzhi, head of the Chinese delegation, said in his speech that as an important part of Sino-Japanese relations, tourism is playing an indispensable role in deepening friendship and increasing mutual-understanding between the two peoples.

Li said China and Japan saw a good momentum in tourism development during the January to April period this year, adding that more than 1.2 million Japanese people visited China, up 13 percent from the same period of the previous year, while about 700, 000 Chinese tourists visited Japan, up 28 percent. ? ?

As many as 41 World Heritage sites are China's tourism essence, Li said, expressing the hope that more and more Japanese people will go to China to see them.