GUANGZHOU was listed as one of the most loved Chinese tourism cities for European visitors, according to a poll carried out among nearly 1,500 European people during this year's Sino-European tourism forum held in Switzerland from Aug. 22-23, the Guangzhou Daily reported Thursday (September 1st).

Cultural relics, food and the hospitable Guangzhou citizens were all cited as reasons that attracted Europeans to Guangzhou, according to the poll.

A French project manager from General Electric said he was fascinated by Guangzhou -- "a beautiful city with a profound historical and cultural legacy." He said he was greatly impressed by the traditional buildings in the old city and thought Guangzhou was a perfect combination of modern civilization and ancient cultural relics.

A British patron at the Garden Hotel bar even compared Guangzhou's architecture to ancient Rome. "I have never imagined that I could find so many treasured relics in Guangzhou. It seemed that I ran into treasures everywhere I went," he said.

Olivier Nicolet, a General Electric engineer who had paid a short visit to Guangzhou before, said he could hardly forget Guangzhou's delicate food with a strong South China flavor. "I like the large variety of snacks sold at food stalls around the city," Nicolet said.

Chen Mirui, a student from Switzerland now studying at Sun Yat-sen University, said she liked the food in Guangzhou's restaurants, many of which had a history of more than 100 years, a guarantee of authentic traditional flavor.

Many foreign tourists felt at home in Guangzhou where they could find food from throughout the world, the Daily said.

Many visitors came to Guangzhou on business. They said Guangzhou people's diligence and originality impressed them a lot. "They are hard-working, optimistic and enterprising spirit. I can learn a lot from them," an official of the Swedish Consulate in Guangzhou said.

According to statistics from Guangzhou tourism authorities, 112,195 European people have toured the city from January to July, 27.59 percent more than the same period last year.

Editor: Wing