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The U.N.’s World Heritage Committee on Friday placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of such sites that it considers to be in danger.

The iconic St. Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites central to Ukraine’s culture and history. The decision Friday to put those two on the body’s list of sites “in danger” has no enforcement mechanism but could help deter Russian attacks.

Neither site has been directly targeted since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Lviv has largely been spared from the fighting. But Russia has unleashed waves of strikes on Kyiv and other cities, hitting residential areas and critical infrastructure with Iranian-made attack drones.

The decision was made at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Saudi Arabia. The committee maintains UNESCO’s World Heritage List and oversees conservation of the sites.

A Ukrainian government official welcomed the move.

“We are very happy to have a very rich history and culture of our country, and we would like to say that it has been over thousands of years, and we try to preserve it for our future generations,” Deputy Culture Minister Anastasia Bondar said. “So it’s very much important that the whole world community will join us also.”

The gold-domed St. Sophia Cathedral, located in the heart of Kyiv, was built in the 11th century and designed to rival the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The monument to Byzantine art contains the biggest collection of mosaics and frescoes from that period, and is surrounded by monastic buildings dating back to the 17th century.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches — some underground — that were built from the 11th to the 19th century. Some of the churches are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters.

The two sites on the Dnipro River, a 15-minute drive from one another, are “a masterpiece of human creative genius,” according to UNESCO.

The other site is the historic center of Lviv, near the Polish border. A fifth-century castle overlooks streets and squares built between the 13th and 17th centuries. The site includes a synagogue as well as Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic religious buildings, reflecting the city’s diversity.

“In its urban fabric and its architecture, Lviv is an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of Eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany,” UNESCO said. “The political and commercial role of Lviv attracted to it a number of ethnic groups with different cultural and religious traditions.”

Lviv is more than 500 kilometers from Kyiv and even further from any front lines, but it hasn’t been spared. Russian cruise missiles slammed into an apartment building in the city in July, killing at least six people and wounding dozens.

UNESCO added Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa to its list of endangered heritage sites in January. Russian forces have launched multiple attacks on the city, a cultural hub known for its 19th-century architecture. Russia says that it only strikes military targets.

Under the 1972 UNESCO convention, ratified by both Ukraine and Russia, signatories undertake to “assist in the protection of the listed sites” and are “obliged to refrain from taking any deliberate measures” which might damage World Heritage sites.

Inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger is meant to rally urgent international support for conservation efforts. The list includes more than 50 sites around the world.
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A four-year absence of elite women’s tennis in China is set to end with the Women’s Tennis Association holding seven tournaments in the next six weeks as part of the tour’s Asian swing.

After tournaments in China were canceled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in 2020, the WTA suspended events in the country in December 2021 over concerns about Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai’s well-being after the Chinese player made sexual assault accusations against a high-ranking Chinese government official.

Peng dropped out of sight after the accusation against former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli briefly appeared on her verified Weibo social media before being swiftly removed. Screen shots of the post were shared across the internet, drawing widespread concern about Peng’s safety from politicians, fellow tennis stars and the WTA.

The WTA said at the time it would not return until someone from the tour could meet with Peng and her allegations were properly investigated.

Despite neither of those two conditions being met, the WTA announced in April that it intended to return to China this season after assurances were received from those close to Peng that she was safe and well, and that “more progress could be made” by returning to China than by staying away.

In doubles, Peng won major championships at Wimbledon in 2013 and the French Open in 2014. Her best Grand Slam showing in singles was a run to the semifinals at the U.S. Open in 2014. She won 23 WTA titles in doubles and two in singles and represented China at three Summer Olympics.

WTA Chairman and chief executive Steve Simon said in April that the organization’s decision to return to China included discussion and feedback with players and tournament officials.

“We’ve got players from over 80 countries, so there’s no shortage of different views of the world and positions on issues and topics we have,” he said. “Through reach-out to us, as well as our reaching out to athletes to find out their positions, the great majority of the athletes were supportive and wanted to see a return back to the region and felt it was time to go back. … There’s certainly some that didn’t agree but the great majority did.”

One of those who don’t agree is tour veteran Alize Cornet, who was one of the first players to back Peng under the hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai, and has said on her social media accounts she will not be heading to China this year.

“Staying true to my convictions and careful about my health, I decided I will not be playing in China this year,” Cornet said.

In the past, about 10 women’s tournaments were held each year in China, generating millions of dollars in revenue for the WTA and offering some of the highest prize money purses on the tour for the players.

This season there will be seven events held across China, starting with WTA 250 tournaments at the Guangzhou Open from Sep. 18 followed by the Ningbo Open from Sep. 25.

The China Open, a WTA and ATP 1000 event, follows from Sept. 28 and will see 2023 U.S. Open finalist, Aryna Sabalenka, debut as the new world No. 1. The woman she replaced at No. 1 after 75 weeks, Iga Swiatek will also be competing at the event, alongside newly crowned U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula.

The 2019 champion, Naomi Osaka will be absent with the former No. 1-ranked player currently on maternity leave after the birth of her first child in July. The four-time Grand Slam winner has said she intends to return to action at the Australian Open in January, where she won in 2019 and 2021.

In October, the tour moves to the WTA 500 Zhengzhou Open and WTA 250 Hong Kong with both tournaments starting Oct. 9. The WTA 250 Jiangxi Open is the following week before the Asia swing concludes at the season-ending WTA Elite Trophy tournament in Zhuhai from Oct. 24, which Sabalenka won when it was last played in 2019. 
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Chinese tourists used to flock to Hong Kong before the pandemic, bringing empty suitcases to fill with everything from baby milk powder, to cosmetics and nonprescription drugs. Large tour groups would descend on the city, sparking complaints from some locals.

When Hong Kong reopened its borders earlier this year, many people were expecting an influx of tourists from mainland China once again, but the past three years have changed the traveling and shopping behavior of Chinese people. 

Since reopening in January, Hong Kong has seen 20.5 million tourists as of the end of August, 80% of whom are from the mainland. That is a big jump from the little over 600,000 last year but is still just half the level seen in the first eight months of 2018, the year before the city was hit by widespread protests and two years before the coronavirus closed borders.

Moreover, those who are coming are buying less, according to industry experts and shop owners. 

“I used to be so busy that I couldn’t keep up with the tourists,” said Kenneth Fung, owner of Fung’s Co., a shop in the popular beachside neighborhood of Stanley, where he sells handwritten colorful depictions of auspicious Chinese characters.

“I would sell 100 of these characters a day, but now I can only sell 10,” he told VOA.

Some shops have had to close, unable to stay in business.

The slow rebound in Chinese outbound travel – one of the biggest sources of tourists for the world – is affecting other destinations around the world as well but it is especially noticeable and worrying in Hong Kong, where 80% of tourists have traditionally been from the mainland.

Before the pandemic, tourism was one of the main pillars of the economy, accounting for nearly 5% of its economic growth and more than 6% of its jobs.

“Other than financial [services], tourism is really a main source of income for Hong Kong. It supplies a lot of jobs for everybody, especially those medium-education workers, so we need tourism in Hong Kong,” said Paul Leung, chairman of the Hong Kong Inbound Travel Association, whose members include 100 travel agencies and tour bus companies.

Tourists interviewed told the VOA that mainlanders have grown used to shopping online during the pandemic, and Hong Kong no longer offered cheaper prices for luxury or other goods.

“Now we can buy whatever we want in the mainland,” said Lin Ping from Beijing. “The price difference isn’t great. … The prices of some online direct sales are more discounted than that of Hong Kong, from what I’ve seen in the past couple of days.”

Lin said she had done very little shopping and was simply enjoying the scenic attractions in the city, including on The Peak, a popular tourist destination that offers breathtaking views of Victoria Harbor.

Mainland China’s consumers also have more options for duty-free shopping now, with such centers opening on the mainland, rivaling Hong Kong.

A bigger underlying reason may be China’s slower economic growth, high youth unemployment and massive property bubble, which has seen housing values fall and made people hesitant to spend, economists said.

“They’re not into showy stuff like LV bags like before, and they don’t go to so many places outside of China anymore,” said independent Shanghai-based economist Andy Xie. “The mentality that you consume to show off to other people, that’s down sharply.”

Anti-Chinese sentiment, which exists in Hong Kong as elsewhere, may also have discouraged some people from traveling outside the mainland, Xie said.

“If people don’t like you, what’s the point of going there? The world doesn’t like you; Chinese people know that. You look at Europe and the United States, very few go there. The market has not caught on yet,” Xie said.

Cecilia Wang, a recent college graduate from neighboring Guangdong province, said she was worried about visiting Hong Kong prior to this trip because the last time she was here, the protests made her feel unsafe. She had also heard about discrimination against mainlanders, including rude service by shopkeepers of those speaking Mandarin Chinese rather than the local Cantonese dialect.

“After coming here, I feel that Hong Kong people are quite warmhearted. I didn’t feel any discrimination,” Wang said.

In a statement issued to VOA, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, in charge of promoting inbound travel, said the outlook for tourism recovery in the second half of the year was stable and gradual. 

“We are optimistic that the arrivals could reach 30 million for the full year 2023,” it said. 

That is about 50% of the pre-pandemic level. Industry officials believe it could take another year or longer before Hong Kong’s tourism and retail sectors bounce back. 

“The pace of recovery in the future will still be highly affected by varied factors, including air capacity, [the] global economy, and regional tourism competition, especially the exchange rate,” the board said.

It also said, though, that the latest visitor survey it conducted shows “Hong Kong continues to captivate visitors with its shopping, culinary offerings, theme parks, and excellent connectivity.” 

The agency also said visitors are increasingly interested in more comprehensive and diverse experiences in Hong Kong, particularly its arts, culture, and outdoors, such as its museums, neighborhoods, photographic opportunities, and outlying islands’ natural attractions.

To attract more tourists, the board began giving out 500,000 free plane tickets this year, as well as gifts to tourists, and has invited over 1,000 travel industry personnel, media, celebrities and influencers from mainland China and overseas to visit Hong Kong. 

Some of the city’s quarter of a million travel industry workers, however, have had to change careers as tourist arrivals fell from 65 million in 2018 to 56 million in 2019 during the protests, and then plunged to 3.5 million in 2020 when the pandemic hit. Arrivals dropped to just 91,398 in 2021, before starting to climb in 2022, but only to 604,564. 

Leung said his travel agency and other businesses, including hotels, face difficulties finding workers. 

“If you’re going to have it back to 70 million, I think it will take quite some time,” Leung said. “We need time to recover. No. 1 is the hotel, the manpower, the transportation.”

But he added: “We really have confidence that Hong Kong will bounce back.” Sitting in his empty shop, Fung, the artistic calligrapher, draws the Chinese word for “good fortune” in bright colors. He refuses to shut down his business, despite a lack of customers.

“I’ve been working here for nearly 40 years. At my age, I won’t be able to switch to a different career,” Fung said, before closing for the day.  
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