While in Nanjing to attend the upcoming the 3rd Jiangsu Development Summit, Professor Cai Liping from Purdue University hailed the development model of Chinese tourism sector on May 18 and called for expanding the model internationally, especially in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.

Born in Funing County of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, the 61-year-old is now Director of Purdue Tourism & Hospitality Research Center and oversees international education at College of Health and Human Sciences. In 1980, he graduated from Jiangsu Provincial Tourism School, today's Nanjing Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, becoming one of China's s first college students majoring in tourism. After working in China for several years, he went to study in the United States and earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1996.

Cai mentioned the rise of rural tourism as an impressive new change taking place in the province's culture and tourism in recent years. Tourism industry needs to embrace diversified development ways, and Jiangsu is particularly successful in turning the countryside into new tourist attractions, according to Cai.

As some areas have formed their own brands, in his view, this not only improves local culture and people's living standards but also contributes to rural vitalization. This change helps local people pay more attention to their own environment and the beautiful scenery close to them.

Regarding the development of tourism, Cai noted that the government support policy in many regions varies slightly, but the impact is often very different, an opinion also supported by other experts. To this end, he explained that "there is not just one way of development, and the scale of construction does not have to be large. The key is to find a model that suits local development."

He named Zhouzhuang Ancient Town as a good example because it provides better services for local residents while preserving historical and cultural resources, representing a useful exploration of piloting Chinese modernization in tourism sector.

In addition to his academy life, Cai once served as a member of the Indiana tourism development commission and held other positions. Over the years, Cai has actively supported the development of tourism and education in his hometown while promoting the people-to-people exchanges between Jiangsu and the United States.

"Although I live in the U.S., I watch news about Jiangsu almost every day," said Cai.

After the first Jiangsu Development Summit in 2017, Cai learned that Yancheng and Indiana wanted to strengthen exchanges in education, an initiative that he was eager to turn into reality. Later, he facilitated the partnership between institutions such as Yancheng Polytechnic College and Vincennes University, Indiana's first college. Today, some of the students who went to Vincennes University for study and exchange have returned to China, while others continue their studies at Purdue University and Indiana University.

Since 2000, Cai has also organized more than 300 Purdue University students to Jiangsu for short-term study or internships.

"The young American generation is eager to learn about China, and I hope that in the future we can organize more young people to visit Jiangsu, especially its county-level regions, to strengthen exchanges and mutual appreciation in cultural and educational endeavors," Cai said.