The IMTD 2024 revolved around the theme of “mutual understanding among people through mountain tourism” and the forum theme “mountain tourism destinations responding to climate change”, including a series of activities.

 

The rich exchange activities highlight and promote the development concept of mutual learning among civilizations, driving innovation in the “mountain tourism plus” model. 

 

Mangshan Mountain, located in Yizhang County, Chenzhou City, is known as the first mountain in China’s primitive ecology and the world’s gene bank of flora and fauna. 

 

 

 

The forest coverage rate is as high as 99.6%, and the highest negative oxygen ions are 100,000 per cubic centimeter. It has the largest and most well-preserved native evergreen broad-leaved forest at the same latitude on Earth. 

 

As a “biological sanctuary” during the extinction of dinosaurs, Mangshan Mountain sheltered over 2,400 species of higher plants and over 300 kinds of vertebrates.

 

Today, the still lush Mangshan wild orange is the oldest known citrus species in the world. Mangshan Trimeresurus mangshanensis, as rare as giant pandas, is unique to Mangshan Mountain, with only about 300 to 500. 

 

 

 

In 2017, Mangshan created the first barrier-free mountain-type tourist attraction in China, allowing people with disabilities, the elderly, and other groups to enjoy equal and dignified tourism rights. 

 

Since the operation of the barrier-free system in 2020, Mangshan has received a total of 27,000 people with disabilities, including more than 5,200 severely disabled individuals and 480,000 elderly people aged 65 and above.

 

IMTD is an international commemorative day initiated and established by the International Mountain Tourism Alliance in 2018. Since its inception in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 29, 2019, it has been held for six times. It aims to establish a sustainable global platform for tourism cooperation, cultural integration and civilization dialogue of mountain tourism. 

 

2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and France and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism. The IMTD 2024 was held in Nice, France to build a bridge for promoting cooperation in mountain tourism between the two countries.