A visitor looks at pictures exhibited at a recent tourism promotion event featuring Chongqing, held at United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday. ZHANG RUINAN/ CHINA DAILY

Picturesque mountains, the mighty Yangtze River, the magnificent canyons of the Three Gorges and a collection of historic ancient towns ... an exhibition of pictures bringing into view the natural and cultural attractions of Chongqing was exhibited at United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday.

"Chongqing is a city of natural wonders, of mountains and rivers, and with more than 3,000 years of history, it's also a land with profound cultural resources," said Zhang Ming, Chongqing's minister of publicity, at the opening of the exhibit titled "A Tour in Chongqing, A Gain in Vision."

Zhang said Chongqing has become a popular destination for tourists. "In the first half of 2018, Chongqing attracted about 261 million, including 1.47 million foreign tourists," said Zhang. "We have 72 direct international flights linking with more than 120 foreign cities and 53 countries and also a visa-free transit policy for citizens from dozens of countries, allowing visitors to stay and see the sights for up to 72 hours."

The municipality, which covers more than 31,000 square miles, is home to more than 30 million people. In 1997, it became the fourth municipality of China after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. As the commerce and transportation center of western China, Chongqing has become number one on the World Travel and Tourism Council's most recent "10 Fastest Developing Tourism Cities In The World" list.

In a letter of congratulations to the event, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed his appreciation of the exhibit for showcasing the beauty of Chongqing to local tourism workers, promoting cultural exchanges and trade relations between Chongqing and New York City, and deepening the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

"In recent years, Chongqing has put a lot of effort into promoting its tourism resources internationally, and has seen a big increase in inbound visitors," said Pan Xiaopeng, deputy director of the China National Tourist Office in New York."Tourism has brought huge economic and social benefits to both China and the US. Last year, the outbound tourists between China and the US reached 5 million in total."

The Chongqing delegation also launched the city's official digital publicity platform, iChongqing, at UN Headquarters, and invited all to attend a "Visit Yangtze Again" travel event set for November. A signing ceremony of a partnership between the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, Chongqing Daily News Group and Sino-American Friendship Association, as well as partnership between Chongqing Broadcasting Group and Cimagine Media Group LLC was also held at the event, to help build Chongqing into a gateway for Americans to learn more about the vast western region of China.

"It's the first time I heard about this city, and it looks absolutely magnificent – some places in the pictures I would love to go to and introduce to my clients," said New York-based travel advisor Helena Marks, who attended the event.