【明報專訊】Today (27 September) is World Tourism Day. Its official celebration takes place in Doha, Qatar, in the framework of the International Year on Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (世界旅遊組織), in 2016, the number of international tourists rose 3.9% worldwide to 1.235 billion. France remained the world's most popular tourist destination, followed by the United States, Spain and China.
Tourism is one of the pillars of Hong Kong's economy. According to Tourism Commission (旅遊事務署) statistics, 56.65 million visitors came to Hong Kong in 2016, 4.5% down on the previous year.
1. France: Louvre (羅浮宮)
Mona Lisa is among the most famous pieces of art in the world. It is protected with bulletproof glass and has its own body guards! It was stolen once, in 1911, but was returned to the museum two years afterwards.
2. Mount Rushmore National Memorial (拉什莫爾山/總統山)
The southeastern face of Mount Rushmore is the site of four gigantic sculptures of the faces of four US presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Begun in 1927, the projected was completed in 1941. Nearly 3 million people visit Mount Rushmore a year.
3. Spain : Sagrada Família (聖家堂)
It is architect Antoni Gaudi's most celebrated work. The construction of the church began in 1882 and is still going on! Visitors may go to see Antoni Gaudi's tomb, which is on the underground level of the church.
4. China: Hoh Xil (可可西里)
UNESCO (聯合國教科文組織) declared the Hoh Xil nature reserve in northwestern China's Qinghai province a natural heritage site(世界自然遺產) in 2017. It is the largest, highest and youngest plateau in the world. It provides crucial habitat for wild yaks (氂牛), which are native to the Himalayas (喜馬拉雅山脈) in Central Asia.
■Glossary
gigantic (adj) 巨大的
celebrated (adj) 著名的
crucial (adj) 至關重要的
habitat (n) 棲息地
[Smarties' Power English 第191期]
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