Juli Costanzo, mayor of City of San Gabriel, gives a keynote speech at the Shaanxi Tourism promotion presentation in Hilton Hotel in San Gabriel on Wednesday. Cindy Liu / China Daily

After promoting tourism to China's Anhui province in Los Angeles in July, Chinese tourism officials gave a boost to another one of China's scenic and historic areas - Shaanxi - with a presentation in San Gabriel, California on Wednesday.

Shaanxi is an inland province located in northwest China with a population of more than 37 million. Home of the Terracotta Warriors, Shaanxi is considered one of the cradles of the Chinese civilization. Thirteen feudal dynasties established their capitals in the province during a span of more than 1,100 years, from the Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty.

The province's principal city and current capital, Xi'an, is one of the four great ancient capitals of China and is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, which connects with Europe, Arabia and Africa.

Organized by the China National Tourist Office in Los Angeles and Phoenix Satellite TV US, the presentation was attended by officials from both the US and China.

Juli Costanzo, mayor of San Gabriel, commented on the importance of promoting international travel business to San Gabriel's development in the future.

"I started my Chinese language class two weeks ago and I hope to serve my people better by knowing more about Chinese cities and Chinese culture," said Costanzo.

Wang Lei, deputy consul general of China in Los Angeles, recognized the presentation as an important investment in promoting people-to-people relations.

"Good diplomatic relations between the US and China are built on the understanding between people," Wang said. "I hope tourism can play an active role in livening up US-China relations.

"Shaanxi has had experience hosting international tourists for decades. You can't talk about tourism without mentioning Shaanxi. As the largest city on the US' west coast, Los Angeles is an important market for the Shaanxi travel industry," Wang said.

Yang Zhongwu, director of the Shaanxi Tourism Administration Bureau, described why Shaanxi was a good destination for Americans. Shaanxi served as the capital for 13 dynasties that shaped China's history, including the Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang, with 73 emperors having lived there.

"There are Chinatowns in many cities in the US. In Chinese, Chinatown is called Tang Ren Jie, meaning 'the street of Tang people', because Tang refers to Chinese people. Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi, is the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty. You should not miss Shaanxi if you travel to China."

Yang was joined in the presentation by Dai Weihong , of the Shaanxi Tourism Administration Bureau and International Tourism Development, and Gao Chunyi, director of Xianyang Cultural Relics and Tourism Bureau.

In 2013, Shaanxi province received almost 300 million foreign tourists. Xi'an has been chosen to host the 2015 World Tourism Organization (WTO) Conference on June 18.

Yang also mentioned the 72-hour transfer visa-free policy that was approved in June. Holders of passports from 51 countries can now enjoy access to Shaanxi province and up to a three-day stay in the major cities of Xi'an and Xianyang without obtaining a visa.

"This visa-free policy will attract more Americans to China and particularly to Shaanxi," said Wang Yanjie, director of the China National Tourist Office in Los Angeles.

Xi'an is the only visa transfer-free zone in Northwest China and the eighth in China, after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Dalian and Shenyang.

cindyliu@chinadailyusa.com