Football players from Busan, the Republic of Korea, spar with Xiamen students during their visit from Nov 25 to 29. [Photo/fao.xm.gov.cn]
Vice-chairman of the Busan Football Association in the Republic of Korea led a 25-member football team to Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, from Nov 25 to 29.
Kong Suting, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office in Xiamen, said at the welcome ceremony on Nov 25 that Xiamen has developed a closer sports and culture relationship with Busan in recent years, adding that the ports of Xiamen and Busan had established cooperative relations in August this year.
Kong expressed hope that the delegation would take their visit as an opportunity to forge relations with Xiamen natives and that they would help promote the city in ROK after returning home.
During their stay in Xiamen, the ROK football team participated in friendly football matches with local students from the Xiamen Foreign Languages School and Xiamen No 2 Middle School.
They also visited Gulangyu Island, a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
The football exchange events between Xiamen and Busan first began after the 2016 Xiamen Teenager International Camp Football Invitational.
In March 2017, the Xiamen Competitive Sports Events Management Center signed a cooperation agreement with the Busan Football Association stating that football players in the two cities should visit each other at regular intervals from 2017 to 2020.
Six months later, this plan officially kicked off when the Xiamen Competitive Sports Events Management Center led a delegation to Busan.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
