Chongqing- A delegation of the U.S. Embassy in China visited the Chongqing Children's Library in southwestern China on May 27 to discuss the future direction of cooperation in culture and tourism between Chongqing and the United States.

Eric Concha, Culture Officer of the U.S embassy in China, and Jon Larson, Economic Officer of the U.S. Embassy in China with led a delegation to the Chongqing Children's Library, also known as Former Site of Roosevelt Library.

Liu Xi, Deputy Director of International Exchange and Cooperation Division at Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, said that Chongqing and the States have had close cooperation in culture and tourism, being each other’s important source of tourists in recent years.

He hoped that Chongqing and the States can rely on the “full-chain” integrated service platforms in the post-pandemic era, including Chongqing International Window of Culture and Tourism and Chongqing International Exchange Center for Culture and Tourism.

Liu continued, with the strong support of the U.S embassy in China, through strengthening the interactive exchange and cooperation between Chongqing and the U.S. in cultural institutions, literature and art troupes, cultural and creative industries, film and video production, tourism promotion, international research, etc., this not only expands the personnel exchanges between the two sides but also enhances mutual learning among civilizations, bringing people closer and deepening their friendship.

“Wulong is typical of karst landscapes and minority cultures,” said Concha. “I am glad to know that portions of Transformers 4: Age of Extinction was filmed in Wulong District, specifically at Tiankeng, also known as ‘The Three Natural Bridges’, which serves as the largest group of natural bridges in the world.”

“There seems to be lots of performing and recording arts in Chongqing,” said Larson. He raised his thoughts on further cooperation between Chongqing and the States in cultivating creative industries together, including TV, music, etc.

Former Site of Roosevelt Library was built to commemorate the achievements of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the anti-fascist war. It serves as the first and only library named after a foreign president in Chinese history.

Anne Roosevelt, the granddaughter of President Roosevelt, has visited the site of Former Site of Roosevelt Library twice and presented a bronze statue of Roosevelt. Among four Roosevelt libraries in the world, the Chongqing Roosevelt Library is the only one that received the bronze statue.

(Du Min, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)