Mutual love: Heart-warming interactions boost exchanges

Interactions between Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have warmed the hearts of many Chinese people during this cold winter, boosting both tourism and business exchanges between the two places.

Heilongjiang, which boasts abundant ice and snow resources, has witnessed a boom in tourism this winter, especially in its provincial capital Harbin. Among the crowds of visitors, 11 kindergarten kids from Guangxi have caught the attention of Chinese netizens.

The kids aged between 3 and 6 years old from Nanning, the regional capital of Guangxi, are on a study tour led by three teachers. They set off from Nanning on December 28 and visited Huaihua in Hunan Province before arriving in Heilongjiang on December 31.

Due to the orange-colored down coats they have been wearing and the place they come from – Guangxi is famous for growing honey mandarin oranges – the kids have been affectionately nicknamed "little honey mandarins" by netizens.

They received a warm welcome in Harbin and Mohe, the northernmost city in China during their stay in Heilongjiang. Many netizens joked online that none of the kids could possibly go missing, since the entire nation was helping to count their numbers.

The tour group is currently in Jilin, another province in northeast China, and is scheduled to return to Nanning on January 10.

Touched by the Heilongjiang people who took good care of the "little honey mandarins," Nanning sent three truckloads of honey mandarins and eight truckloads of Orah mandarins, a total of 189 tons of produce, to Harbin. More mandarins have also been sent to Heilongjiang from other places in Guangxi. In return, Heilongjiang sent 100,000 boxes of cranberries to Guangxi. A total of 100,000 bags of Heilongjiang's famous Wuchang rice are also on the road. All of these will be offered freely.

The departments of commerce in Guangxi and Heilongjiang are discussing business exchanges to promote special local products.

The tourism departments of Guangxi have also offered favorable policies to show their gratitude in return. Forty-five tourist attractions in Chongzuo City, including the Detian Waterfall bordering Vietnam, will open free of charge to visitors from Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, three provinces in northeast China, from January 8 to February 8.