Journalist's view | Navigating sights, sounds, and surprises of Sri Lanka

By Felicia Li

Noisy, loud, moist, and crowded are my primary impressions when I step out of the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, with the voices attracting people to exchange money for each stall hanging over my head. It was my first time to arrive in this magic city, Sri Lanka.

Before departure, when I mentioned this country, many of my friends were unfamiliar with the geographic location of Sri Lanka, an island nation in South Asia only 30 miles away from the closest point in India, with a land area roughly equivalent to Chinese Taiwan and Hainan Island combined.

Not surprisingly, it is less than the permanent resident population of another magic city, Shanghai; Sri Lanka has a population of around 22.18 million.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has become a popular tourist destination for Chinese people, often called the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean" for its extensive coastlines, highlands, and jungles. Still, European tourists are always the main power of the local economy because of the proximity of the two places and the warm sunshine, which is hard to chase in northern Europe.

As a democratic socialist republic that gained independence after 450 years of European colonial rule, Sri Lanka has a distinct cultural heritage within the broader South Asian region and maintains close ties with my home country, China. " We love Chinese people's appearance," our Sri Lanka local driver, Frank, once told me with his watery, genuine, and blue mixed grey eyes.

As a democratic socialist republic, Sri Lanka abolished its parliamentary system in 1978 in favor of a presidential system. The country follows a policy of non-alignment and, despite its proximity to India, remains politically and economically independent from its larger neighbor; unusually, the similarity of natural resources and cultural background nurtures distinctive social behaviors of the two countries, especially regarding women's status.

A student studying for his PhD in China revealed that his motherland has many water reservoirs as Sri Lanka's central GDP comes from agriculture, followed by gem exports. Its key cash crops include tea, rubber, and cinnamon - the latter being a significant reason for European colonization, as the high demand for tea in Britain could not be fully met by supplies from China, coinciding with the decline of coffee plantations in Sri Lanka.

The local currency is the rupee. However, the rupee is currently experiencing a downward trend in international markets. "The rupee's exchange rate with HKD was 10:1 when I illegally worked in HK in 1998, but now it has become 39:1," our local driver Frank told us (about Frank, I do have a lot of stories to share).

The funniest thing is that catching 120,900 banknotes (rupees) was the first time I felt I could purchase the entire world, although 120,900 rupees equals USD400.

The average monthly income for Sri Lankans is around USD160, much of which comes from consumption.

Compared to Thailand, Sri Lankans are less likely to ask for a tip; they usually wait shyly for you to tip or ask with a smile, something I know all too well, as I was so outspoken, a local hotel bellboy took over 500 rupees from me and stormed out of my room in a panic when I asked him if the tip was enough.

（Video Provided by Jack Lu)

While located in the heart of South Asia, Sri Lanka's foreign relations with China are solid. Sri Lanka remains a crucial hub in China's Maritime BRI. For example, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in the capital, Colombo, was built with Chinese assistance and resembles the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Colombo is the only major city in Sri Lanka with a skyline of high-rise buildings, many bearing the logos of Chinese construction companies. China provides Sri Lanka with substantial unconditional aid each year in infrastructure projects and through interest-free and low-interest loans...

(More stories coming soon)