Galle city and the hand of friendship

As Galle sits quietly and life goes on, a Chinese presence here might not change the tempo in this tourist destination

Galle is a celebrated tourist destination for both local and foreign tourists. Very recently a partnership that Sri Lanka and China entered into added to the importance of Galle, which is already a UNESCO heritage site. This week, China and Sri Lanka set up a bilateral cooperation focusing on Galle. The partnership is aimed at boosting heritage-led tourism and cultural economy development. 
This partnership is sure to unlock economic and diplomatic opportunities for both nations. But we must remember that China is a lot more ambitious than most of Sri Lanka’s ‘friendly’ neighbours, who set foot here in this island echoing the slogan ‘let’s mutually help each other’. 
 Yes, China must know the value of Galle and the prospects for tourism in that coastal town and its location on the Sri Lankan map. China officially conveyed, at the launch of the ‘Guangzhou Culture Week’ in Galle itself, that its government was in this project to protect cultural heritage and heritage tourism. It always brings a positive outcome when a foreign nation is involved in projects in Sri Lanka. This is because foreigners are not clock watchers when they work. Another factor is that their presence here on any site influences the mindset of mediocre workers to work hard and meet acceptable standards and deadlines. 
Sri Lanka has many UNESCO named heritage sites in this island. Some of the most popular ones are the Sacred City of Anuradhapura, the Seetha Amman Kovil in Nuwara Eliya, the Sacred City of Kandy, Sinharaja Forest Reserve and the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. And out of all that has been mentioned here, the Chinese have chosen Galle. Apart from the strategic location Galle enjoys in terms of  geography, this coastal town has much to be cherished and protected, and China can help.
When we speak of tourism, foreigners who step into this coastal town will expect to see all their tech needs taken care of by the host city. Still, when we travel here inside Sri Lanka, there are occasions when matters connected to communication, internet and Wi-Fi pose challenges to tour operators. Can you believe that this is a country where a customer purchasing a mobile phone is left to spend time anguishing whether he/she took the right decision? This is because the charging cable has to be bought separately! 
As Galle sits quietly and life goes on, a Chinese presence here might not change the tempo in this tourist destination. Some years ago, there was political tension in the island when China undertook the construction of Colombo Port City, and just a few blocks away an Indian company was busy working on the Colombo Port’s Colombo West International Terminal. 
For the record, the Galle Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1588 and fortified later during the occupation of ‘Ceylon’ by the Dutch. Thanks to Galle possessing a historical, archaeological and architectural importance, past governments have taken great pains to maintain its polished appearance with necessary maintenance work. China’s presence here will only add to the cause. 
The Chinese are sure to be attracted to the Galle Lighthouse. This facility, built by the British, helps in the navigation of vessels on the sea. It is also the oldest lighthouse in Sri Lanka. At present it is maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports authority. When one scales to the top of the lighthouse, there is an opportunity to see far and wide into the Indian Ocean. Lateral thinking is needed by this host nation when trying to understand fully how far the ‘hand of friendship’ extended to Sri Lanka stretches.  
While all this happens, we must remind ourselves that China is moving ahead full steam with its Belt & Road Initiative. The ancient ‘Silk Road’ connected the East with the Western world and facilitated business. The Silk Road concept existed when China was not very ambitious, but at the same time didn’t wish to be left out of the business world. Today, the world knows as a fact that for ambitious China the Belt Road Initiative is a revival of the ancient Silk Road. 
Let’s hope Sri Lanka is ready to welcome China, in Galle.