by Hua Hongli, Lucas Liganga
DAR ES SALAAM, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Eight-year-old Wang Ruixuan, from Qingdao city in China's eastern Shandong province, was at a loss for words when immersed in Tanzania's abundance of animals, from elephants to lions and his favorite, serval.
"I like animals very much, especially the serval, a wild cat native to Africa," he said.
"We took a photo of the cat a few days ago, and fortunately it was taken during the daytime," Wang said of the nocturnal animal usually active at night.
Wang was among a group of six children and nine adults from across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao, who spent their May Day vacation visiting Tanzania and doing field research on nature in general and animals in particular.
Organized by Xuexi Nature Education Institution, the cohort visited the Manyara National Park, the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, the Zanzibar archipelago, and the National Museum in the port city of Dar es Salaam.
He Changhuan, a teacher of the study tour group, said Tanzania is one of the easiest places to see animals in the world.
"For study tours, Tanzania is a place closer to nature, allowing children to feel the wild beauty of the East African savannah," he told Xinhua at the Serengeti National Park, a World Heritage Site teeming with wildlife, including lions, leopards, cheetahs and over 500 bird species that inhabit the park, close to 15,000 square kilometers in size.
Elephants and hippos in Tanzania are very large and attract great attention, He said.
Guo Lin, co-founder of Xuexi, said the study tour involved natural, cultural and historical elements, enabling the children to have a comprehensive understanding of Tanzania.
"I think Tanzania should be the most suitable place in the world to connect with nature and see big animals," she said, adding that the Tanzania tour helped the children to get close to nature, where one can see plants, insects, mammals, birds, and even the starry sky.
Indeed, many Chinese visitors are enchanted by the magic of Serengeti National Park, with the bright smiles of Maasai tribesmen sparking an immediate warm glow inside.
Tanzania is well known for its vast wilderness. In addition to the plains of Serengeti National Park, the country is endowed with the Kilimanjaro National Park, home to Africa's highest mountain, the tropical islands of Zanzibar, with Arabic influences, and Mafia Island, where a marine park hosts whale sharks and coral reefs.
Thereza Mugobi, the director of tourism at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, told Xinhua that 44,438 Chinese tourists visited Tanzania in 2023, 32.5 percent more than the 33,541 posted in 2019, and the number is expected to keep rising. ■
