Terengganu will be the first state in Malaysia to have a tourism hub in China and it will be set up in Huaxi, dubbed its 'richest village', located in Jiangsu province, to attract more Chinese tourists to the state.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said the provincial government had approved a 0.4-hectare piece of land for the building of a pavilion based on the Terengganu traditional house concept at a cost of RM3 million in the Chinese town.

He said a memorandum of understanding had been signed with the provincial government on the initiative and the construction of the pavilion would start anytime from now.

"The Terengganu pavilion in Huaxi will also be a centre for marketing various products by the state's entrepreneurs, while an exhibition showcasing its tourism attractions will be held from time to time," he said.

Ahmad Razif said this to reporters after opening the Terengganu Chinese Peranakan Festival 2017 in Kampung China, here, on Sunday.

He said the state government was also discussing with several provincial governments in China to start special direct flights to bring tourists from these provinces to Terengganu.

"Hopefully, if the cooperation goes smoothly, we can achieve our target of attracting 80,000 tourists from China to Terengganu next year." he added.

-- BERNAMA