TextbyChuJiwang
IfirstvisitedtheUnitedArabEmirates(UAE)over10yearsagoforaninternationalhardwarefairinDubai.Iwasdeeplyimpressedthen,butmyreturntripwithmyfamilyduringthisyear’sSpringFestival,China’sbiggestholiday,leftmeevenmoreastounded.
InDubai,BurjAlArab,asevenstarhotelwherewestayed,stunnedme.Openedin1999,itwasbuiltona90meter-long,wide,man-madedikeonasmallislandsurroundedbythebluesea.Shapedlikeasailboat,ittowersovertheseaandfeaturesfourelements:fire,water,earth,andair.Thelobbyandtheaislesarepavedwithluxurioushand-madePersianrugs.Thegoldenpillarsandblue,greenandwhitefloorsarelikethecanopyoftheheavensofastralArab.Everythinginoursuitewasbreathtaking:thesittingroom,thediningroom,thebar,theofficetable,thesofa,andchairsmadeoftop-shelftimber.
GoldSoukintheolddistrictofDubaiistheworld’sthirdlargesttradingcenterforgold.Ifeltdizzyuponseeingroyalgold-linedclothingondisplay.Chineselanguagesignsinfrontofmanystoresbearingwordslike“Welcome,”“GoodLuck,”and“HappySpringFestival”hopetoattractcustomersfromChina.
ThestreetsinDubaiarewelllaidout,withperfecturbaninfrastructure.Diverselydesignedvillablocksappearlikestereo-scopicpicturesatopthedesert,partiallyhiddenyetvisibleundertheshadeofgreentreesandredflowers.
DubaiisfarfromUAE’sonlytreasure.AbuDhabi,thecapital,isjustasbreathtaking,andevensuperiorinsomeways.ItsGreatMosque,forexample,wascompletedin2007atacostofUS$5billion.Ifeltmytripwastooshortbecausethereweresomanyplacestovisit.
Boththegovernmentandthepeoplehavebeenfar-sightedintermsofeconomicdevelopment.Theyhavebeenthinkingofwhatwillhappenwhentheiroilrunsoutsincethedaytheabundantresourcewasdiscovered.Theyusethefortunesbroughtbyoiltodeveloptourismresourcesandinvestinurbanplanning.Today’sboomingurbantourisminDubaiandthecapitalprovesthatthegovernmentmadesomewisedecisionsindayspast.
UAEremindsmeoftheeconomicdevelopmentinChina,whichshouldnotbeswayedbyeconomicaggregatenumbers.Rather,Chinashouldblazeanewpathfordevelopmentandinnovateavenuesofeconomicgrowth.Fortunately,China’sdecisionmakersconcurthatthisisthecorrectdirectionforthecountry’sfutureeconomicdevelopment–innovationandtransformation.
Infact,Chinahasbroadavenuesforeconomicdevelopment,withmanyeconomicpoliciesandgoalsforitslong-termnationalprogresssproutingupacrossthenation,includingagriculturaltourism–justanotherofitsrichtourismresources–andaculturalindustrymarket.
China’seconomycanreachnewheightsbyfollowingapathsuitableforitsownlong-termgoals.