Petra and Great Wall of China linked by twinning agreement

AMMAN — Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority President Mohammad Nawafleh on Thursday signed a twinning agreement in Beijing between the ancient city of Petra and the Chinese city of Jiayuguan, the site of the largest pass of the Great Wall of China. 

Speaking to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Saturday, Nawafleh said that the deal will open new horizons for tourism cooperation between the two countries and will help promote Petra as a global tourist destination. 

He predicted that Petra and other tourist attractions in the Kingdom will witness a growing number of Chinese visitors, adding that all institutions concerned with the promotion of tourism are doing more to promote Jordan’s unique tourism products and attract more visitors.

Jiayuguan, a prefecture-level city in northwestern Gansu province, is famous for the nearby Jiayu Pass, the largest and most intact pass of the Great Wall of China. 

Jiayuguan joined the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in 1987, two years after Petra was declared a world heritage landmark in 1985. 

Inhabited since prehistoric times, the Nabataean caravan-city of Petra, situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia, according to the UNESCO website. 

Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It is one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites, where ancient eastern traditions blend with Hellenistic architecture, UNESCO added.