Impression on UAE
Ifirst visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over 10 years ago for an international hardware fair in Dubai. I was deeply impressed then, but my return trip with my family during this year’s Spring Festival, China’s biggest holiday, left me even more astounded.
In Dubai, Burj Al Arab, a sevenstar hotel where we stayed, stunned me. Opened in 1999, it was built on a 90meter-long, wide, man-made dike on a small island surrounded by the blue sea. Shaped like a sailboat, it towers over the sea and features four elements: fire, water, earth, and air. The lobby and the aisles are paved with luxurious hand-made Persian rugs. The golden pillars and blue, green and white floors are like the canopy of the heavens of astral Arab. Everything in our suite was breathtaking: the sitting room, the dining room, the bar, the office table, the sofa, and chairs made of top-shelf timber.
Gold Souk in the old district of Dubai is the world’s third largest trading center for gold. I felt dizzy upon seeing royal gold-lined clothing on display. Chineselanguage signs in front of many stores bearing words like “Welcome,” “Good Luck,” and “Happy Spring Festival” hope to attract customers from China.
The streets in Dubai are well laid out, with perfect urban infrastructure. Diversely designed villa blocks appear like stereo- scopic pictures atop the desert, partially hidden yet visible under the shade of green trees and red flowers.
Dubai is far from UAE’S only treasure. Abu Dhabi, the capital, is just as breathtaking, and even superior in some ways. Its Great Mosque, for example, was completed in 2007 at a cost of US$5 billion. I felt my trip was too short because there were so many places to visit.
Both the government and the people have been far-sighted in terms of economic development. They have been thinking of what will happen when their oil runs out since the day the abundant resource was discovered. They use the fortunes brought by oil to develop tourism resources and invest in urban planning. Today’s booming urban tourism in Dubai and the capital proves that the government made some wise decisions in days past.
UAE reminds me of the economic development in China, which should not be swayed by economic aggregate numbers. Rather, China should blaze a new path for development and innovate avenues of economic growth. Fortunately, China’s decision makers concur that this is the correct direction for the country’s future economic development – innovation and transformation.
In fact, China has broad avenues for economic development, with many economic policies and goals for its long-term national progress sprouting up across the nation, including agricultural tourism – just another of its rich tourism resources – and a cultural industry market.
China’s economy can reach new heights by following a path suitable for its own long-term goals.