A photo exhibition showcasing the tourism resources and historical and cultural traditions of Beijing, China's capital city, debuted at the UN headquarters Wednesday.

The exhibition, themed "Urban Sustainable Development and Tourism," displays 50 photos showing the scenery of tourist attractions of Beijing, an ancient oriental capital and international metropolis, as well as its cultural treasures, such as the Summer Palace and the National Grand Theater.

Jointly sponsored by the Chinese Permanent Mission to the UN, the Beijing Municipal Government and Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, the exhibition will last till May 15.

After the opening ceremony of the exhibition, the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), an international tourism body launched by the Beijing municipal government, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Health and Environment Organization of the UN at the headquarter of the world body.

Hosted by Li Baodong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, the luncheon meeting was attended by UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, Beijing's Mayor Wang Anshun and the ambassadors of some other countries.

"The growth of urbanization and tourism is a natural consequence of globalizing interdependent world. Much of the growth in the recent decades as we know, has been boosted by China and other Asian countries," Eliasson said while addressing the meeting.

The UN official also praised the establishment of the WTCF as "a concrete example of the Chinese government's commitment to sustainable urban development in tourism."

Last December, the Beijing municipal government took the initiative to establish the WTCF, a non-profit, non-governmental international body organized voluntarily by world tourist cities, non-governmental organizations, and associations and enterprises related to tourism.

Under the theme of "tourism makes cities even better", the WTCF aims to expand the tourism sectors, and to enhance the quality and improve the efficiency of the tourism industry.