Layers of security to protect Wuhan
MAO ZEDONG’S PRIVATE VILLA, WHERE JINPING IS EXPECTED TO HOST MODI ON FRIDAY FOR A MEET, WAS MADE OUT OF BOUNDS FOR TOURISTS
WUHAN: Security has been tightened in downtown Wuhan, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to stay during his twoday informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that is expected to reboot bilateral ties. Several layers of security had been put in place in and around the hotel where Modi will stay and a large number of police deployed in the area by late Thursday afternoon.
Chairman Mao Zedong’s private villa, where Xi is expected to host Modi on Friday for one of their meetings, was made out of bounds for tourists on Thursday.
The villa, opened to the public in 1993, was where Mao would often come from Beijing to spend a few days.it is built on the banks of the East Lake, another Wuhan attraction and on which Modi and Xi are expected to take a boat ride. By Thursday afternoon, security personnel had also been deployed around the lake.
Many local residents passing by the hotel where the Indian leader will stay stopped by to take photos after noticing the buzz of activity around it. Some of them had heard about the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Wuhan.
Wuhan’s profile got an international boost in January when British PM Theresa May began her three-day China visit from the city, before flying to Beijing.
A recent survey by state broadcaster CCTV said the country’s happiest people live in Wuhan, the biggest city in central China and capital of landlocked Hubei province, a little more than 1,000 km south of Beijing.
It is rare, even unprecedented, for Xi to host a leadership summit outside Beijing but choosing Wuhan, a provincial capital and a second-tier city, reflects his focus on emerging cities that many outside China have never heard of.
Vice-foreign minister Kong Xuanyou explained why Wuhan, which has Yangtze river flowing by, was chosen as the venue. “We have taken multiple factors into account: Whether PM Modi has visited the city earlier, the bond of this place with India, as a representative city (of central China)... Wuhan is also an important hub for business, education, research and emerging industries. It is also a hub for inland waterway transport in China,” Kong said.
And to top it all, Wuhan has emerged as China’s happiest city.
“CCTV’S ‘happiness index’ took into account factors such as governance, economic strength, urban infrastructure, and recreational activities. This year’s survey covered more than 100,000 households and 800 million internet users across China,” the Sixth Tone website reported.