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Feature: UN tour acquaints Chinese visitors with China's devotion to world peace, prosperity

Tourist Harwey Li (2nd L) poses for a photo with his family at the United Nations headquarters, in New York, Feb. 5, 2019. During this Spring Festival, the number of Chinese tourists soared at the United Nations headquarters, and the number of Chinese tour groups at least doubled, said a UN tour guide. (Xinhua/Ma Jianguo)

by Xinhua writers Ma Jianguo, Xu Xiaolei, Lin Yuan

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Beijinger Harwey Li and his family visited the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the first day of the Chinese Spring Festival, acquainting themselves with details of the world body, and China's contribution to it.

"What a surprise for the Year of the Pig!" said Li in the company of his wife, parents and mother-in-law. A staff member of China Mobile's Hong Kong branch, Li included the tour to UN Headquarters in the itinerary of his family trip to the United States to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, which began on Feb. 5 this year.

"The UN is a household name to all of us and China is a permanent member of the Security Council. However, it is only after the hour-long trip that we learned China has now grown to be the largest contributor of troops among the five Security Council permanent members and the second largest contributor of budget money among all the contributing member countries in regard of its peacekeeping efforts," Li told Xinhua.

The family was also informed that China's ongoing poverty-relief drive is in line with the UN sustainable development goals and that "China is believed to be the biggest contributor in poverty reduction around the world."

Li and his family have gone on several overseas trips during Spring Festivals, having visited Japan and some Southeast Asian countries. This year, they took back home a stamp of memorabilia printed to feature their heads in juxtaposition with the UN logo.

"Li and his wife are very considerate. They made all the plans, reserved the hotel online and even bought frozen dumplings from a Chinese store so that we could well live the Chinese tradition of having Jiaozi (dumplings) on the first day of the Spring Festival," his mother-in-law told Xinhua, adding that the travel came into being through "crowd funding" within the family.

KNOWING UN BETTER

Ms. Wang from China's southwestern city of Chongqing brought her daughter to New York this Spring Festival and the UN trip was the highlight on their agenda.

"On one hand, children can broaden their horizon through the trip; on the other hand, they can learn a lot more about international politics, which is helpful to their study," said Wang.

Tang Lifang, who is currently studying in the United States, invited her large family to visit New York during this holiday. Although she has visited the UN in the summer of 2015, she was still impressed this time.

"Even if there was no guide and I could only look through the glass at the Security Council chamber, I could feel the solemn atmosphere. My family and I also learned much background knowledge, such as the UN General Assembly's 'one country, one vote rule,'" Tang told Xinhua.

"The UN is an open and friendly place where visitors are allowed to enter the meeting room even as delegates are discussing major issues or the meeting is under way," she added.

CHINESE VISITORS ON RISE

During this Spring Festival, the number of Chinese tourists soared at the United Nations Headquarters, and the number of Chinese tour groups at least doubled, said Jiang Yueyue, a UN tour guide.

It was estimated that around one-third of the visitors were Chinese. During China's public holidays, Chinese visitors would usually double or even triple, Jiang added.

Due to the surge, Marsh Oliver, a young American who is an English-language tour guide, was temporarily shifted to Chinese-language duty this Spring Festival. With one-year working experience in China's northwestern city of Xi'an, he looked warm and sincere while receiving his Chinese guests who regularly called him a "star guide."

Oliver had been guiding Chinese tourists for a week and might get busier in the coming days as the peak of Chinese tourists is yet to come for this holiday season.

"Xin Nian Hao (Happy New Year)!" he recited the greeting phrase in Chinese, which he frequently used these days. And, "Kung Hei Fat Choy (Wish you fortune and luck)!" was the opening remark that he adopted when meeting each group of tourists from China, said Oliver.

Conference acquaints attendees with social equity work in Oklahoma City

• Developer Ron Bradshaw talked about how he used private investment along with low-income housing tax credits, historic preservation tax credits, and tax increment financing to develop Page Woodson.

The $28 million project could not have happened without creative public financing to bridge the gap between what private investment, which is pegged to income, would risk and the cost of developing a project that is low-income by definition.

• Phil Maytubby, director of public health protection at the Oklahoma City County Health Department, talked about food policy, income mapping correlated to food deserts, and the department-led Wellness Coalition's OKC Mobile Market.

He also talked about how building the department's Northeast Regional Health and Wellness Campus five years ago at 2600 NE 63, in the city's poorest ZIP code, 73111, helped lift the area economically.

• Dan Straughan, executive director of the Homeless Alliance, talked about the alliance's WestTown Homeless Resource Center at 1724 NW 4, day shelter at 1729 NW 3, and the Curbside Chronicle, its magazine sold by homeless vendors for income and to develop employment and time and money management skills.

He also talked about coordinated case management, which provides housing and supportive services to more than 100 homeless and at-risk families with children each month, and the Homeless Management Information System, which connects 42 agencies and 164 programs serving the homeless.

Boeck said each effort goes a long way toward creating social equity and bringing more people along for Oklahoma City's renaissance. Boeck said that's the idea behind social equity efforts: fair access to opportunity.

"Social equity," he said, is creating a place where all people can live and work and enjoy, and can stay healthy, they can have jobs, they can afford a house, they can enjoy schools that their kids can learn in — have the same opportunities as everybody else."

Sandbar acquaints himself with Rosehill

Unbeaten colt Sandbar has pleased his trainer and jockey with a gallop around the Rosehill circuit before his assignment in the Skyline Stakes on the road to the Golden Slipper.

Christian Reith rode the Brad Widdup-trained Sandbar in a solo hit-out on Saturday, with the colt timed at a solid 35.02 seconds for the final 600m of the 1000m gallop.

The winner of his two starts including the Listed Lonhro Plate at Warwick Farm on February 10, Sandbar is a $26 chance in early markets for the Golden Slipper on March 24.

He will start in the Group Three Skyline Stake (1200m) at Randwick next Saturday.

"I'm happy with that. He's a pretty straightforward horse," Widdup said.

"He has done everything right so far and next week will tell us where he is placed regarding the Slipper.

"I'm not 100 per cent committed to the Slipper and the next race will tell us."

Sandbar's managing owner, Damion Flower, raced his sire Snitzel, who started favourite in the 2005 Golden Slipper but finished unplaced after a torrid run during which he was galloped on.

A $650,000 yearling, Sandbar was bred by John Singleton, who retained a share in the colt.