CCTV9英语新闻：Belt & Road initiatives pay dividends for Boao（在线收听）

It's been nearly three years since Chinese President Xi Jinping laid out his vision for the 'Belt and Road' initiative with the focus on improving regional trading routes and business opportunities with China. 

When next week’s Boao Forum kicks off , progress made in developing and promoting the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, will be high on the agenda. 

Hundreds of delegates from across Asia will attend the forum on Hainan Island, which owing to its prominent location in the South China Sea is an integral part of the President’s ambitious initiative for closer regional ties.  

What Hainan’s Boao Forum lacks in the fame and name recognition stakes it more than makes up for with enthusiastic followers.

This is an average day in the Chinese village that hosts and gives its name to the annual get together of Asia’s political, business and academic elite.

A constant stream of visitors, mostly from the mainland, that wander the conference hall, take turns at the lectern and pose for endless selfies, to better capture and appreciate the place where key decisions about Asia’s future are formulated. 

"We have watched the Boao Forum events on the television many times. My daughter is a finnance major in the university. So we decided to bring her here to take a look," a tourist from sichuan province said. 

"Boao has very good evironment. And this is the permenent site of the Boao Forum---meaningful to take a photo."

A key topic up for discussion at Boao is the Xi Jinping vision to reinstate the ancient Silk Road with new trade ties and regional relationships.

The goal - to bring more than 60 countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa closer together - through the development of infrastructure and business opportunities along the former historic trade corridors.

Local government officials say that initiative is already paying dividends for this southern Chinese province. 

"From 2011 to 2015, the tourist number has increased from 1.8 million to 8.6 million, with annual increase rate of over 22%," 

"Tourism income surged from some one billion yuan to five billion yuan. The annual growth rate reached 33%," said Meng Weihua, Deputy Mayor of Qionghai City. 

"15 years ago, there was only one little store in the town of Boao, where you could hardly find a building. Now it has become a famous town for travel and a famous tourism destination," said Liu Qingshan, Hainan COSCO Boao Co.. 

A key driver in charting the future economic prosperity of the Asian Region the Boao Forum has firmly cemented itself a place in the Chinese collective psyche.

"The President and the Premier rotate to come to Boao every year, along with dozens of world leaders. They have promoted Boao's fame in the international commmunity," said Meng. 

Hainan is well placed to reap further benefits for the ‘Belt and Road’ project with a network of planned ports and coastal infrastructure projects spanning Southern China, Southeast Asia.

Senior government officials from Russia, Lithuania and Belgium will join Asia counterparts at this year's four day fourum which opens on Tuesday.