The President of the City Council, Marko Potrebica, and the Deputy Mayor, Jelka Tepšić, along with their associates, received a delegation today from the Chinese sister city of Sanya, led by Mayor Chen Xi.

The reception was attended by the Head of the Mayor's Office, Ivana Brnin, the President of the City Council's Committee for International Cooperation, Katarina Doršner, the Director of the Dubrovnik Reconstruction Institute, Mihaela Skurić, and the representative of the Port of Dubrovnik, Blaž Abramović.

The cities of Sanya and Dubrovnik signed a cooperation protocol back in 2013, and the addendum to the friendship memorandum from 2024 guarantees the continuation of successful cooperation and further intensification of relations, especially in the fields of inter-institutional exchange, culture, arts, protection of the historical core, and investment promotion.

The representatives of the Chinese sister city showed particular interest in Dubrovnik's experiences in preserving historical and cultural heritage and successes in sustainable tourism management, with an emphasis on the cruise ship market, given that this Chinese city in Hainan province is also a cruise destination.

At the end of the reception the Mayor of Sanya with a sculpture titled "Saint Blaise and the City," which will be displayed in the Friendship Park in the city of Sanya.

A large number of Chinese tourists traditionally visit our city during periods outside the main tourist season, even in the winter months. During the peak of the corona crisis, a total of 14,000 protective masks were delivered to Dubrovnik from Sanya and the city of Yangzhou.