#Boutique Long Essay Creation Season#Kuwait, a world-famous country
The full name of Kuwait is The State of Kuwait. It is located on the northwest coast of the Persian Gulf in western Asia, adjacent to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, bordering the Persian Gulf in the east, and facing Iran across the sea, with a coastline of 290 kilometers. There are 9 islands such as Bubiyan and Faraka, with a water area of 5,625 square kilometers. The vast majority of Kuwait's land is desert, with relatively flat terrain, no mountains, rivers and lakes, and little fresh groundwater. Kuwait has a tropical desert climate, with annual precipitation of 22-177 mm, long hot and dry summers, with a maximum temperature of 51 °C, and a short, humid and rainy winter, with a minimum temperature of -6 °C.
Kuwait was part of the Arab Empire in the 7th century, became an Ottoman Empire after 1871, became a British colony in 1899, and became independent in 1961. Kuwait is rich in oil and natural gas reserves, with proven oil reserves of 14 billion tons, ranking sixth in the world, and natural gas reserves of 1.78 trillion cubic meters, ranking 18th in the world.
Kuwait covers an area of 17,800 square kilometers, has a population of 4,776,000 (2020), the official language is Arabic, the main ethnic group is Arab, and the main religion is Islam. Kuwait is divided into six administrative provinces: Capital Governorate, Hawari Governorate, Ahmadi Governorate, Jahara Governorate, Farwaniyah Governorate and Great Mubarak Governorate.
Kuwait is a hereditary monarchy, the Emir is the head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces, and all laws, as well as treaties and agreements with foreign countries, are ratified and entered into force by the Emir. Kuwait advocates safeguarding national independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity, developing the national economy, and implementing a high welfare system. After the Gulf War, Kuwait quickly began post-war reconstruction work and strengthened national defense construction. Kuwait prohibits all political party activities, and the Al-Sabah family has a firm ruling position, a relatively stable political situation, and a good security situation.
The oil and gas industry is the main pillar of Kuwait's national economy, accounting for 45 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. In recent years, while focusing on the development of petroleum and petrochemical industries, the government has emphasized the development of a diversified economy, focusing on the development of finance, trade, tourism, exhibition and other industries, and put forward the 2035 development vision to build Kuwait into a regional commercial and financial center, give full play to the important role of private enterprises in Kuwait's economic development, ensure the comprehensive and balanced development of people's lives, and achieve social justice.
Kuwait's industry is dominated by oil extraction, refining, and petrochemicals. In 2019, crude oil production was 2.683 million barrels per day. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is one of the world's top 10 oil companies, with overall responsibility for the sale of crude oil and refined products in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and abroad. Kuwait has about 14,182 hectares of arable land and 156 hectares of soilless cultivation. In recent years, the government has attached great importance to the development of agriculture, and the value of agricultural output accounts for only 0.4 percent of GDP, and agricultural and animal husbandry products mainly rely on imports.
Foreign trade plays an important role in Kuwait's economy. The main export commodities are petroleum and chemical products, with oil exports accounting for 95 percent of the total exports; imported commodities include machinery, transportation equipment, industrial products, grain and foodstuffs; and the main trade objects are the United States, Japan, Britain, South Korea, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Singapore.
Kuwait's coastline is 290 kilometres long, and the entire territory is a undulating desert. At 275 metres above sea level, the Dubdibergao Plains in the south-west are the highest in the country, with mountains in the north, the Leyaha Hills in the west, alluvial plains in the northeast, and desert plains interspersed with hills. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east, and there are no rivers and lakes with water all year round. Groundwater is abundant, but very little fresh water, and drinking water comes mainly from Iraq and desalinated seawater. Kuwait has a tropical desert climate, with frequent sandstorms in spring and summer.
Kuwait Towers, also known as the Tourist Tower, stands on the Gulf Boulevard and is a landmark and one of Kuwait's most prestigious tourist attractions. Designed by Swedish designers and built by Yugoslav construction companies, it broke ground on March 15, 1970, completed on February 26, 1977, and opened to the public on March 1, 1979. The large tower consists of 3 towers. The main tower is 187 meters high, with two spheres built at 82 meters and 123 meters, respectively. The sphere consists of two parts, the lower half for water storage and a capacity of 1.33 million gallons, and the upper half for a dining room with an indoor garden for visitors to enjoy. There is a café and a rotating observation deck for 100 people, which rotates once every half hour and offers a panoramic view of the city and the sea. The second tower is 140 meters tall and has only one sphere for storing fresh water with a capacity of 1 million gallons. The third tower is a thin cone, 113.6 meters high, and the tower is equipped with 96 strong searchlights from top to bottom, which are specially used for lighting the first two towers and the surrounding area. The tower was damaged during the Gulf War and was renovated by the Kuwaiti government after the war.
The Grand Mosque is the largest official mosque in Kuwait and the eighth largest in the world, with a total area of 46,000 square meters, of which the building itself covers an area of 20,000 square meters; the main prayer hall is 72 meters wide and illuminated by 144 windows with 21 teak doors that can accommodate tens of thousands of worshippers; the dome is 43 meters high and 26 meters in diameter, and four majestic chandeliers hang from its dome and are inlaid with 99 names of Allah. The Grand Mosque is famous for its Islamic architecture and is one of Kuwait's major landmarks.
Inaugurated in 2017, the Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre covers an area of 13 hectares with a total exhibition area of 22,000 square meters. The cultural center is part of the Kuwait National Cultural District (KNCD), and its museum area consists of 6 parts, including the Natural History Museum, the Science and Technology Museum, the Fine Arts Center, the Arab-Islamic Science Museum, the Space Museum, and the Theater, which aims to showcase Kuwaiti, Islamic and Arab culture and history to the local people and tourists, while providing a variety of world-class exhibitions to the audience, making Kuwait a leading creative and artistic hub in the Gulf region.
Falaika Island is located at the entrance to Kuwait Bay, 20 kilometers off the coast of Kuwait City, across the sea from Kuwait City. With an area of 44 square kilometres, the second largest island in Kuwait, the island is Kuwait's main tourist and summer destination, one of the most well-known historical islands and a major archaeological center. The earliest ruins found on Faraka Island belong to the Mesopotamian and Dilmun civilizations, dating from around 2000 BC. Historically, Kuwait had a long history of commercial exchanges with China and trade with ports in other parts of Asia, and Al-Faraqqa Island was an important stop on the Maritime Silk Road where the civilizations of the two rivers and the Arabian Gulf coast met. The Government of Kuwait attaches great importance to the island's cultural heritage and has built a museum on the island to display the excavated artefacts, as well as to the development and construction of the island, which has museums, shops, schools, and a large number of villas and sports and fitness facilities for living and vacationing.
Kuwait's economic development has long relied on oil, and the oil and gas industry is the main pillar of the national economy. In recent years, Kuwait has begun to focus on the development of tourism, exhibition and other industries. In 2010, Kuwait formulated the "Vision 2035", hoping to build Kuwait into a financial and commercial hub in the Gulf region through the development of the north by 2035, and actively attract foreign investment to this end. The development of the north includes five islands, including Silk City and Bubiyan, which are large-scale and plan to attract investment of 400 billion US dollars, aiming to connect Iraq to the Mediterranean coast through ports and railways, radiate Iran, and build a free trade zone as a residential, commercial, educational, and recreational center, and develop industries other than the oil industry such as finance, logistics, tourism and communications. The Kuwaiti government estimates that tourism is expected to provide more than 90,000 jobs for young people by 2035, increasing tourism revenue to 4% of GDP by driving foreign investment in Kuwait's tourism industry.
At present, the Kuwaiti government has begun to invest more resources in the tourism industry, building many modern tourist facilities including Kuwait Tower and Khiran tourist attractions, improving airport infrastructure, building a new terminal at Kuwait International Airport, and planning to carry out more expansions and build a new airport to improve hardware facilities and reception capacity. Kuwait plans to build a number of large-scale hotels and resorts with more than four stars, and has built large shopping malls such as Avenues Shopping Center, 360 Mall and Sahara Golf Resort to attract business travelers and family tourists who require high tourism hardware and service quality, and is committed to building Kuwait into a convention and exhibition tourism center. On the basis of consolidating traditional cultural tourism and sightseeing tourism projects, Kuwait has also integrated resources, developed leisure and vacation tourism projects for tourists of different ages, and launched diversified tourism products such as sports tourism, sea sailing, oil field and refinery visits, and convention and exhibition tourism, so as to attract international tourists from all over the world and revitalize the country's tourism industry.
Constrained by the small land area, dry and hot climate, the lack of diversity of cultural history and natural landscapes, and the strict conditions for tourist visas, Kuwaiti visitors are mostly on official business, business and labor services, and there are few tourists for pure leisure and vacation, mainly from the GCC and other Muslim countries.
Kuwaiti citizens are wealthy, social welfare is high, there are many public holidays and annual leave, and Kuwait's summer temperature is extremely high, and the summer vacation of up to four months a year provides Kuwaitis with ample opportunities and great convenience for vacationing and traveling. Because of this, Kuwaiti nationals have an increasing demand for outbound tourism, a high willingness to spend on tourism, and a strong spending power, making Kuwaiti international tourism spending in the forefront of the region and the world, and Kuwaitis are also known for their love of shopping and enjoying life. According to the World Tourism Organization, Kuwait's total international tourism expenditure in 2018 was US$14.3 billion, ranking 25th in the world, and Kuwait's per capita international tourism expenditure was US$2,966 per year, accounting for nearly 11% of GDP per capita.
From the perspective of the structure of the travel population, Kuwaitis mostly travel abroad as a family unit, and the family size is generally between 4 and 8 people. Since Muslims have a strong sense of family, "multi-generational travel" is also one of the characteristics of Kuwaiti travel. In addition, the proportion of male tourists is higher than that of female tourists, and the post-70s and post-80s generations are the main force of Kuwaiti outbound travel, but the proportion of post-90s tourists is gradually expanding, and group travel with friends is more popular with the younger generation.
In terms of travel purposes, Kuwaiti tourists, like tourists from other Gulf countries, mainly travel for holidays with their families, visiting relatives and friends, decompressing and relaxing, as well as meeting and business travel. From the perspective of travel methods, Kuwaitis tend to travel independently, and group tours are not the mainstream in the local area, and because they travel with their families, they prefer to stay in one country for a longer time and do not like multi-country circulation.
From the perspective of travel destinations, Kuwaitis like to take advantage of short holidays (such as public holidays) to go to surrounding Arab countries for vacation, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iran, Egypt, etc. With the summer vacation approaching, European, American and Asia-Pacific countries have become the first choice for Gulf residents, including Kuwaitis. According to the survey results of the Oxford Institute of Economics, tourists from Gulf countries, including Kuwaitis, are more inclined to travel to popular tourist destinations such as Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Australia, and Thailand, and the popularity of tourism to Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries is also rising. Kuwaitis attach great importance to tourism and shopping experience, and tourism is generally for the purpose of leisure and pleasure, so European and American countries with more developed basic tourism facilities and more convenient shopping conditions are more favored by Kuwaitis. According to Kuwaiti domestic media reports, some Kuwaitis have purchased properties in Turkey, the United States, Italy, France, Switzerland and other countries to facilitate summer vacations abroad during the summer vacation.
Kuwait was the first Gulf Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with China. On March 22, 1971, China and Kuwait established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. Over the past half century, the relations between the two countries have developed smoothly, with fruitful cooperation in various fields and deepening people-to-people friendship. The friendship between China and Kuwait has always been at the forefront of China's exchanges with countries in the region, and the two sides have become good friends who trust each other and good partners who cooperate sincerely.