The Belarusian Society of Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries organized over a hundred literature, music, history and geography events, themed evenings, exhibitions and roundtables in 2016, Nina Ivanova, the head of the Belarusian Friendship Society, said during the meeting of the board of the organization on 27 December, BelTA has learned.

Connecting China and Western Europe, Poland has been tapped as a key link in the Chinese government's "Belt and Road" initiative. Chinese President Xi Jinping made a stop in Poland back in June, overseeing the signing of around 40 different trade and partnership agreements.

Nine Iranian artists will join 200 Indian artisans to participate in the 32nd Annual Dastkari Haat Craft Bazaar at Dilli Haat during the first fortnight of January. The expo will include an interaction between Indian and Iranian artisans in a workshop. [...] The event will seek to revive the civilizational and creative links between the two countries by not just providing an exhibition of products for sale, but also educating visitors about the creative process.

Fans who attended Wham!'s 1985 concert in Beijing have been recalling the historic show following the death of George Michael on Sunday. Michael -- together with his music partner Andrew Ridgeley -- became the first western pop act to perform in China after 18-months of successful negotiations between the Chinese government and Wham's agent, Simon Napier-Bell.

As part of the government's efforts to promote its "New Southbound Policy," the Ministry of Culture has earmarked a budget of US$600 million to attract international filmmakers and TV crews to produce their future projects with counterparts in Taiwan. Mulan, a musical that made its global debut this month in Singapore, is a great example of collaboration between performers from Taiwan and abroad.

The year is slowly fading into darkness as per the Gregorian calendar (the most widely used civil calendar in the world today) and a new year is about to dawn. The last few days of the year are generally a time of celebrations and merriment across many parts of the world and these festivities have thrived for millennia.

Throughout the year, kitesurfers in need of an adrenaline rush travel the globe to glide on the waters of the Dakhla lagoon in Western Sahara. It is a unique seaside treat which the Moroccan government has turned into a touristic mirage [...] For King Mohammed IV of Morocco, this spot is not merely a tourist attraction but is an ambitious project that can foster development and unity.

Examining the trends, it has to be mentioned that the tourist demand structure has been visibly changed. Destination tourism organizations, domestic and foreign tourism enterprises of China and Sri Lanka both need to better understand the new trends and new features of China outbound tourism market in 2017.