An essay competition is being held to promote people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States.

The theme of the competition is personal experiences of cultural exchanges, with participants encouraged to write about their understanding of the differences between China and US, their reflections on living and traveling in either country, or their feelings about how the Chinese dream and American dream have effected change.

Jointly-held by China Youth Daily, China CYTS Group and China CYTS Tourism Holding Co, the contest is part of the China-US Tourism Year campaign, which aims to increase travel and tourism between the two countries by enhancing the travel experience, increasing travelers' cultural understanding and expanding appreciation of natural landscapes.

Prizes up for grabs include a 10-day travel package to the west coast of the United States, four round-trip tickets from Beijing to Los Angeles, and ten coupons for one-night's free stay at a five-star-rated hotel in Los Angeles.

Anyone who participates in the contest will also receive a coupon worth 199 yuan for any tourism product to the United States on aoyou.com.

Only Chinese and English-written stories will be accepted and reviewed. The essay should be limited to 1,000 words with a 50-word introduction of the writer attached.

All essays should be submitted before Dec 31 by email to chiniausa@aoyou.com. The subject of the email should be Essay Contest of China-US Tourism Year. Participants should also provide their name, contact information, passport number, address and post code in the email.